Hand in Hand: A Teen Titans Story
by Ultra Sonic 007
Summary: [Final Chapter Uploaded] Set in the Legendverse, we see a story of two Titans: Savior and Gauntlet. The crisis is over, and everything is back to normal. Was there a point to any of it all? Was it another test for the Titans? Or was it simply a bad day...
1. When Spells Go Horribly, Horribly Wrong

Standard Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the property of DC Comics. Savior/Noel Collins is the property of Legend Maker. Gauntlet/Robert Candide is the property of Bobcat (NO TOUCHY!).

Author's Notes: I'm sure some of my regular readers are now very confused. A Teen Titans story? Why now?

Well, this Teen Titans story is actually set within a fictional TT universe called the 'Legendverse', which is the timeline in which the Teen Titans stories by Legend Maker take place (it's an amalgam of comic and animated storylines, along with personal touches and OCs by LM). For instance, the Robin who leads the team is actually Tim Drake instead of Dick Grayson (and I mean as in the Robin who is the lover of Starfire). The setting is Jump City, Florida instead of San Francisco, California (which may make some people wonder why Bumblebee's team is called Titans East). And so on and so forth. You should really take a look at LM's Teen Titans stories (along with those of Bobcat's, Jedi-And's, Chaltab's, and others who have based their stories in the Legendverse). Take note that her stories are of a considerably more mature nature theme-wise…and those unused to swearing might be going O.O

If you don't feel like reading through all the stories, here's a nifty primer guide.

www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/ft/65979/8769/1/

This idea of mine was too juicy to pass up, and I wanted LM's permission to go ahead. She said yes.

This will not be a long story a la Revision or Final Fantasy X-3. Rather, it will be around 10 chapters long, maybe less.

For those familiar with the Legendverse, this story takes place between Wings of the Eagles and Flashing Lights and Sounds. So Scalpel hasn't joined yet.

That said, on with the show!

xxxx

"How much longer?"

"Two hours."

"How much longer?"

"Two hours."

"How much longer?"

Noel Collins – aka Savior, the white-clad Titan – growled as he stared through the large, reinforced window. "It's going to be the EXACT same answer for the next 22 seconds. So SHUT UP Robert!"

The figure was silent.

For 22 seconds, in any case. "How much longer?"

"**_AGGGH!_** **FUDGE** IT!" Savior immediately grimaced as the person on the other side of the window started laughing. _I swear to God, if Raven doesn't nullify that last spell soon…_

The one known as Savior seemed strange at glance. His choice of attire was fitting to his name: white T-shirt, white jeans, white boots, a white jacket with a blue T on the right shoulder, and light blue eyes. Even his hair was white. And his hair was sticking up in a way that would make some think he was a DBZ knockoff. His name and wardrobe might lead one to think he was a saintly kind of person whose moral fiber was surpassed only by Superman.

You'd be dead wrong.

Noel Collins – for that was his real name (but don't tell anyone!) – was a total wallflower. Except instead of shyness or unpopularity stinting his social activity, it was utter bullheadedness and a stern attitude. He was a stuck-up, grumpy, and hypercritical control freak (not the villain, but he IS someone who desires control). But perhaps it's to be expected; the life of a superhero is harsh, and despite all the evil in the world, people continue to go about not caring or even doing what led to the evil in the first place (kind of like a 'don't throw pearls to swine' scenario). After all, remember that the world is a terrible place not because of evil people, but because of good people who do nothing.

Nevertheless, Savior was a superhero on a renowned team of superheroes, the Teen Titans. He was the first to join after the original five of Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven, and now their numbers had swelled to a grand total of eight full-time members (complete with many honorary members. I kind of lost count after practically every metahuman under the sun was made an honorary member. I kid). In battle, he was a calm and observant tactician, and utterly merciless to foes who did not deserve mercy. Yet he did his best not to cross the thin line that separates heroism from villainy, and he usually succeeded.

Unfortunately for the team, there was one person that Savior absolutely loathed to no end.

That person was on the opposite side of the window, laying in a padded white room. The boy of 15 had spiky blonde hair (not quite as DBZ as Noel's, but spiky nonetheless), blue eyes, a white T-shirt with a black G embroidered on the chest, and ragged khaki pants. On his right index finger was a golden ring with a rather large ruby attached to it.

He was Robert Candide, also known as Gauntlet. He was one of the members of the Teen Titans.

And his personality was a total 180 from Noel's. Relaxed, goofy, and prone to following his impulses, Robert had joined the team via rather strange means: government mandate. It was his punishment for robbing the same bank every day for two weeks straight. It wasn't that he was evil; he was just of the mindset that his good deeds owed him the occasional bank robbery. Yes, he was rather strange. He could be serious when it counted, but most of the time he would be quoting from the Superhero Guidebook, saying that his ancestors were actually responsible for most of the world's major historical events (so dictates the Candide Family Bible!), and generally ticking Noel off, intentionally or otherwise.

It was rather a mystery why Savior disliked – some say hated – Gauntlet with such intensity. Perhaps it was because he was a convicted criminal who only got on the Teen Titans by court order to perform 2000 hours of community service (as you can tell, he ended up staying). Perhaps it was that he ended up fighting the Titans the moment he first set foot into Titans Tower. Or maybe it was because Noel was the reason he got on the team in the first place (the letter detailing the court order came with a clause that the team could deny Robert's entry onto the team. It was Noel's turn to check the mail, and he had missed it. Thus, the clause went unheeded, and there was no choice but to accept Gauntlet), and this was a strange form of retribution. Who knew?

All we know is that the events of the last several days had worn Noel's nerves down completely and totally, to the degree where he was on the verge of snapping. Needless to say, he was ready to avoid Gauntlet for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, Robin had said that Gauntlet needed someone to watch him while he endured his punishment (isolation in the containment room). And, as Tim had put it, 'who better than Noel to watch Robert'?

'_Who better than Noel' my bass_, thought Savior. Then he nearly facefaulted at how stupid that had just sounded. Not only had he been forced to watch Gauntlet, but he had to keep the audio channels open. This allowed the two to talk.

Gauntlet sighed as he waved his legs in the air, clearly bored out of his skull. "I'm bored."

"Thanks for sharing," dryly muttered Noel. "I'd prefer it if you didn't talk. I might not break your leg if you shut up."

Gauntlet pointed at the ceiling dramatically. "Oh, the quality of mercy is not strain'd. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes." That was another thing about Gauntlet, he had a tendency to cite Shakespeare, passages from the _Iliad_, and other such noted works when he had nothing to do. His hyperactivity normally got in the way of such citation, but what can you say: he was bored out of his mind.

"My mercy is better reserved for other people."

Gauntlet merely sighed as he brought his hand back down. "I didn't MEAN to cause all that. All I was looking for was a romance spell. Love Potion #9 kind of thing."

"And you know that meddling with spell books when you have no experience with magic of any kind is akin to playing with nuclear weaponry," pointedly retorted Noel.

Gauntlet pointed at his ring. "The Gauntlet is a magic-based artifact!"

"A magical artifact does not a good mage make, even if it WAS given to you by a demigod." That was another foible of Robert's that Noel hated; he had gotten his powers in a method that had required no self-sacrifice or hard work at all. Noel had gotten his powers – a malleable, semi-sentient white energy called the Shimmer (think Green Lantern, except no powers of flight and not as versatile) – after getting doused by paint and a dangerous toxin that had nearly killed him. Robert, on the other hand, had gotten it from an ancient demigod called Pangloss the Mighty after his name had been picked out of a phonebook. Yes, a phonebook. Pangloss may have had enough power to completely cleanse the earth of evil, but his power was only matched by his laziness. Rather than ending world hunger, he would stay home and watch _Arrested Development_.

Robert grumbled. "Well, I wouldn't NEED to browse through spell books if a certain author let me have a love interest of my own!" Silence. Nothing happened, much to Gauntlet's confusion. "Huh?"

"The containment room is coated with a Fourth-Wall energy field from S.T.A.R. Labs. No breaking out for you," snidely said Noel.

"Aw nerts." Robert stared at the ceiling quietly. "Still…that was all hectic…I remember it like it was yesterday…"

"It WAS yesterday."

"Well, the end of the madness was, but it all actually started over a week ago."

Thus the flashback began, wavy lines and all. Noel sighed; these always gave him a headache.

xxxx

(Cue the Teen Titans opening music…)

_**Ultra Sonikku Presents…**_

(the words **SAVIOR** and **GAUNTLET** appear side-by-side…and then smash together in a pyrotechnic flash to form the title)

_**A Legend Maker Production…**_

**HAND-IN-HAND**

_**Double the trouble…**_

xxxx

The flashback has begun.

We return to Titans Tower, early in the morning. Right now, two figures are on the roof of the T-shaped building.

One is Noel.

The other is the sorceress empath known as Raven, her pale gray skin, blue boots, dark blue leotard, blue cloak and hood, and her violet hair acting as a counter to Savior's all-white attire.

They were more than allies. They were also lovers.

And now, they were meditating together.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Noel sighed deeply. "Not working this morning."

Raven opened one violet eye. "Meditation doesn't work if you quit halfway." Her dry and even voice often served as the team's voice of reason.

"We've been at it for a half hour," muttered her boyfriend, his white hair swaying in the wind. "Probably yesterday's fault more than anything else." The previous day had been wrought with a battle against the Troika – more commonly known as Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth – at the Jump City First National Bank. Normally, it wouldn't have been so troublesome for the eight Titans, but they had other problems as well. Dr. Light had also been attacking a power generator outside of the city, and Control Freak had been harassing the local video rental store (again). So naturally, they had split up to fight their foes. Savior, Raven, and Beast Boy had fought the Troika. Much fighting ensued. Naturally, the Titans had won, but they had all been rather tired after the fact.

"Meditation is supposed to help relieve weariness, not add to it," pointedly said Raven.

Noel shrugged. "I'm going to go get your mirror and see if that helps." The mirror in question was a magical mirror that served as a portal to Raven's mind. It was a tool Raven often used for meditation…and perhaps a trip into his girlfriend's mind would work. "I'll be back in a bit."

Raven nodded as she continued her meditation. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath-"

Then she felt it. A ripple in the magical wavelength spectrum. It tickled her senses briefly before disappearing.

_Hmm…nothing._ The power she had sensed was roughly akin to a minor spell being cast. A very minor spell. _Nothing to worry about._ And thus Raven continued meditating.

Three minutes later, she felt the ripple again. Again, it was minor…but it was a bit more wide reaching in its effect. _Okay…this is starting to get annoying._ She continued her meditation…although she was a bit more alert.

Another ripple. More powerful this time. She could instantly tell where its origin was.

Her room.

_Noel_. Raven immediately disappeared in a flash of black energy.

xxxx

Noel rubbed his neck as he slowly strolled down the hallway toward Raven's room. _Blasted Mammoth. My body still feels like a pincushion._ Although Noel had single-handedly defeated the Troika (well, more like held them off until help arrived) when they had once invaded the Tower, that had been back before he was an official Titan. Now the Troika knew his battle tactics, powers, and weaknesses much more intimately, which meant a more troublesome fight.

As he neared the door to Raven's room, he noticed a slight, purplish glow coming from underneath it. "What the…?" He immediately opened it.

What he saw was fellow Titan Robert Candide holding one of Raven's spell books, reciting a spell. A crackling purple glow was surrounding his right hand.

"Gnidnob dnah! Tsrif hcuot llahs dnib! Lacigam lleps etingi!" chanted Gauntlet, although his speech sounded disjointed.

Savior, as you could guess, was flabbergasted. "WHAT. _ARE._ **_YOU._** **_DOING!_**"

"WAH!" yelped Gauntlet as he dropped the ancient tome, his right hand still crackling with magical energy. "Uh, hold on a second Noel-"

_"What did you cast!"_ demanded Noel as he stomped toward the blonde teen. On impulse, Robert took off for the room's window.

Savior immediately leapt forward. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" The white-haired Titan grabbed the fleeing Gauntlet's right hand with his left.

The magical aura crackled and burst, creating a mighty thunderclap. The purple light and booming sound ceased moments later.

Savior rubbed his eyes to clear the spots as his girlfriend teleported into the room. Her violet eyes looked at the book on the floor and the two male Titans in front of her…and then her experienced senses analyzed Gauntlet's right hand. And in that instant, she knew what had just happened. "Oh no…"

Noel turned around, asking, "Hey Raven. Any idea…what…" There was a strange feeling in his left hand.

He slowly turned back toward Gauntlet…and gazed at the fallen Titan's right hand.

His left hand was clutching it…and to Savior's horror, he couldn't let go. "What the…?"

"That aura is similar to that of bonding and sealing spells. I'm not totally sure until I see the spell he used…but it looks like your hands are bound," explained Raven in her ever-so calm tone.

Noel Collins was silent.

Then he stared at Robert with the hardest glare he could muster. **"WHAT DID YOU DO?"**

"Um…I can explain?" meekly said Gauntlet.

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

_**Unintended Consequences**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: Well? What do you all think?

See you soon, and please review!


	2. Unintended Consequences

Standard Disclaimer: DISCLAIMERDOKEN! I don't own Teen Titans.

Author's Notes: Ah…my first foray into the Legendverse seems to be going well. :D

To read my reviewer replies, go to the following URL.

www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/fr/74952/390/207299/1/

Begin!

xxxx

_**Unintended Consequences**_

xxxx

The main living room is where we now turn our attention. Normally, one would find this room filled with a myriad of Titans for trivial reasons. Be they Beast Boy and Cyborg, playing away on the Gamestation, or perhaps Starfire, whipping up a batch of her infamous alien food (with extra arsenic for that special someone!).

Now, all the Titans have gathered for a rather serious reason.

Robin, the Boy Wonder and leader of the Teen Titans. (Maybe he should look into changing it to the Teen Wonder…) Real name: Tim Drake.

Cyborg, half-man, half-machine, and all-Booyah. (Oh God, did I just write that?) Real name: Victor Stone.

Beast Boy, the Green Changeling, and the team's jokester. Real name: Garfield Logan (Or Gar for short.).

Starfire, the orange-skinned Tamaranean and Princess of another world (current occupation: Robin's lover). Real name: Koriand'r.

Raven, whom I've already introduced to you. Real name: Raven. (Yeah, she didn't much care for keeping her real name a secret.)

Terra, the blonde geokinetic who has a thing for green guys. (It would only take about a kajillion stories before the two finally got together…and I STILL say she should've gone to Gauntlet!) Real name: Tara Markov.

And, of course, the two guys who are now stuck together.

Robert Candide – Gauntlet – and Noel Collins – Savior – sitting in a chair. Gauntlet's right hand (which also held the ring that became the Gauntlet) and Savior's left hand were stuck together by a magical adhesive of sorts.

And of course, the first question Beast Boy asked was:

"Uh…why are you holding hands?"

Savior fumed. "That's what we're about to find out." _As soon as this is over, this hand is going to be disinfected. Maybe with acid or…something burning. GAH! He's actually making me stupider!_

"Man, you like to overreact," muttered Gauntlet.

Before Savior could say anything, Robin said, "Enough. Let's just calm down and explain what exactly happened."

"Starting with Gauntlet," finished Raven.

The blonde goofball sighed with remorse. "Well…I was kind of getting irritated with the fact I've yet to get a girlfriend, no thanks to a certain author."

**CRASH!**

"And there goes the fourth wall," grumbled Cyborg. "We really need to get those new Fourth Wall energy fields from S.T.A.R. Labs."

"They're expensive. I'd have installed them in the entire tower if they were cheaper," commented Robin.

Raven held up a hand. "We're talking about Robert's actions. Please be quiet." Her tone was sufficiently hard enough to get the point across. She gazed at Gauntlet and pulled out a familiar spell book. "Is this the spell book you used?"

Gauntlet nodded.

Raven glanced at the spell book for a moment. It was a thick, leather-bound book, with pages on the verge of disintegrating into fragments. The book's title was written in old English, back in the days when people wrote with very elaborate handwriting. Its title:

'_**TOME OF MAGICKS: ANGLO-SAXON EDITION'**_

_Ah_, thought Raven. The Tome of Magicks was actually comprised of several volumes of spell books created by medieval European sorcerers, differing depending on which region the tome was written in. Robert had used a volume written by an Anglo-Saxon, the settlers of what would later be known as England. "Mind pointing out the spell you cast?"

"Well, to be honest, I cast THREE spells," admitted Robert. "First one was some kind of 'Purity of the Mouth' spell. Thought it'd make me a better kisser. Not that I'd need any help in that area."

Savior shot Gauntlet a wearied look. "Self-promotion can come later. What did it do?"

Robert simply smiled.

The other Titans blinked. Terra muttered, "Orbit, eat your heart out."

His teeth were now pearly white, clean to a degree that would make most dentists green with envy. They weren't so clean that they somehow reflected light like mirrors (so the cliché goes), but they were very shiny nonetheless.

Starfire giggled with delight. "His teeth are like the gemstones from the hide of a Melyok slokthar! Wondrous!" As the alien stared with childish glee at Rob's impeccable smile, Vic just cocked his head out of disbelief. "So basically, it was a spell that brushed your teeth for you?" he asked incredulously.

Robert nodded. "I ate an old cookie I had in my pocket, and it did nothing."

"DUDE…" Beast Boy began to drool as the possibilities came to mind. "I'd never have to brush my teeth again! I could eat junk food all day!" Stars came to his eyes. No more cavities!

Raven frowned as she found the page with the spell Gauntlet used. "Magic spells are NOT to be abused." _Still, I can understand why a spell like this would be necessary back then. But from the looks of the current generation of British, it didn't work too well._ The empath nearly laughed. Sometimes her own jokes amused her more than Beast Boy. "And the second spell?"

"Something about 'Cleanliness of the Mouth'."

Everyone glanced at Gauntlet oddly.

"What? It was right below the first one. Thought this time it WOULD make me a better kisser." Raven immediately began analyzing the written incantation. "Didn't really do anything though…well, I think. I don't FEEL like a better kisser." The blonde teen shrugged. "Guess the first one overruled it. Like the judge who overruled Vinny."

Noel Collins smacked his head with his right hand, wondering why on Earth he had gotten stuck to THIS idiot. "This is all just too damn stupid."

"Noel, NO-" screamed Raven.

She was cut off mid-sentence as a white aura materialized around Gauntlet…and then it slammed into Noel's face. It had no force, but he briefly saw flashes of white clouds and rainbows. Then it all disappeared, leaving only a slight headache in its wake. The white-haired metahuman gurgled, "Ugh…what the fish was that?"

Noel paused. "Fish? **FISH?** _Did I just say fish?"_

Raven sighed as she pointed at the second spell. "I tried to tell you. This spell is a rather peculiar one; the one who casts it will surround himself with an invisible field of magic. Once the caster's mind recognizes a curse, the field of magic will target and envelop the one who uttered the curse, thus preventing the victim from cursing from there on afterward."

Savior arched an eyebrow. "So basically, I have just been subjected to a magical version of 'soap for the foul mouth'."

Everyone was silent.

Finally, Savior – his tone disbelieving and sarcastic at once – retorted, "You gotta be porkin' me."

The sheer absurdity of the statement sent Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Terra to the floor with laughter. Robin snickered a bit – what can you say? Coming from Noel, it was FUNNY – while Gauntlet stifled his own laughter. Raven just shook her head while Starfire wondered how a pig came into the conversation.

Savior just grumbled. _Okay God, I'd like to wake up now._ Of course, this was no dream. Can't blame him for trying though.

"Not exactly what I originally wanted, and it's a little cheesy," admitted Gauntlet before giving a thumbs-up. "But I LIKE IT!"

_Now he's going into Wedding Crashers quotes. Wonderful._ "Just kill me now and get it over with," grumbled Savior.

Gauntlet casually asked, "Does this mean Raven will be up for grabs?"

"**NO!"** roared Savior.

"**_AS FOR THE THIRD SPELL,"_** rumbled Raven as she tried to regain Gauntlet's ever-miniscule attention span. "What was it?"

Robert replied, "Well…it was a bondage spell of some kind."

"_Ewwwwwww,"_ groaned Beast Boy and Cyborg, each looking positively disgusted. The latter commented, "Man, that's just not right." And all the while, Savior immediately began wondering what cruel twist the universe had next in store for him.

Ironically, it was Gauntlet to the rescue. "Not like that! I mean just something so a girl would actually stay WITH me and not flee the first instant she gets." Robert snorted, obviously remembering some bad dates from Uberton. "I mean, sure, it's ALWAYS either my breath, or that they have to go to the bathroom, or that there's a giant monster in my soup, or that she already had arrangements with Marmot Man or Mr. Nobody or Insert-Random-Hero-Here. C'mon ladies, I ain't THAT gullible!"

"Heaven forbid, you're actually gullible? WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?" The sarcasm was dripping from Noel's voice as he tilted his head away in a fit of resentment. "Jackapple." Another grimace. More laughter from Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Was the spell on page 100?" asked Raven. Robert nodded. "I see…it appears you cast the spell wrong."

Savior had a 'Gee, how surprising' look on his face. _Cue the horrifically bad news in 3, 2, 1…_

"Normally, this spell would serve as a fusion between two people, to completely merge their minds, bodies, and souls. However, due to either lack of any experience with magic or chanting the words incorrectly…it only stopped with the hand. So it's actually weaker than it should be." Raven closed the spell book. "As the results are, this is more of an inconvenience than anything else."

Savior was confused. The 'horrifically bad news' had actually turned out to be better than he had expected. And that was a problem.

It meant something REALLY bad was going to happen soon.

Raven stood up. "Seeing as how the original spell was meant to be permanent, no counter-spell exists. I'll start researching for ways to undo this current predicament of yours." With that said, the Goth girl floated away, exiting the living room.

Tim sighed. "Well, it seems that it's nothing major. You two will just have to cope for the time being. And before you start complaining Noel, just deal with it. It won't be that long until you're both back to normal."

"Actually, Noel's being extranormal," commented Gauntlet as he poked at Noel's dour face. "See? He's even grumpier than before. Extra grumpy!"

Robin frowned at the sight of Noel's twitching eyebrow. He knew that Noel's opinion of Robert was extraordinarily harsh, critical, and – to be honest – unfair. Although Gauntlet usually acted like the village idiot, he was a valuable asset to the team who was dependable. Nevertheless, Noel STILL didn't trust him (well, maybe a little, but not entirely). "You too Robert. Try not to antagonize Noel, intentional or otherwise. Okay?"

"Of course! I swear on the honor of my Great Grand Uncle Sergeant Joshua Candide, I will not fail you!" Gauntlet saluted Robin like a soldier. This show of theatrics, as predicted, caused Savior to rub his temples.

Robin sweatdropped. _This isn't going to end well._ "Just don't kill each other." Robin just walked to the sofa and at down in between Cyborg and Beast Boy, who were already hard at work battling through the depths of the terrifying gauntlet (Gauntlet: I smell a promotion!) that is the fighting game _Deceased or Breathing Xtreme._

"Any idea why this game has such a stupid name?" asked Terra as she watched from behind the couch, hovering on a large slab of rock she often used to float around the Tower.

Beast boy shrugged. "No idea. Any idea Cy?"

"No idea BB. FYI, you've just gotten your butt handed to you!"

"NUUU!"

Suddenly, Savior's vision was blocked by the voluptuous Starfire. In her hands was a curved bowl filled with a bubbling liquid that would most likely incinerate a human's intestines. "You'd like to inform me on what it's in there?"

"Mm-hmm! Cookie dough, milk, zorka berries, orange juice, and a gallon of Windex!" exclaimed the exuberant Tamaranean.

The white-haired metahuman stared at her. It was his 'Okay, are you kidding me?' stare, mixed in with his 'I am not amused' stare. Why two stares at once? Because he was versatile. "Kory, ingesting that much Windex would probably kill me."

The alien looked confused. "But…the bottle said it helps to clean things. Would it not clean your stomach?"

"It's only for windows," grumbled Noel. His mood was becoming progressively sour. Sooner or later, he'd implode under the stress. _Please Raven, hurry up with that counter-spell…_

As Starfire floated away, Robert piped up, as if to spite Noel for wishing this to end. "Speaking of Sergeant Candide, did you know that according to the Candide Family Bible, he survived Pearl Harbor, Midway, Stalingrad, AND D-Day?"

"Unlikely, considering that no one in your family tree has ever served in World War II." How did Savior know? Well, he had taken it upon himself to dig up Robert's past soon after he had been ordered to join the team. The Candide family had been…ordinary. Perfectly ordinary.

That, and Stalingrad had been fought for by the Russians, not the Americans.

"It was just covered up. After all, the guy who fought alongside Captain America would most certainly need protection!" proclaimed Robert.

"Captain America's a comic book character!"

"That's what the government WANTS you to think."

_**BREEEEEEEE!**_

The alarms blared.

"Titans, get ready!" yelled Robin as he leapt to his feet, rushing towards the computer. "Alarms were triggered at Jump City Elementary. Pulling up security footage…"

A myriad of images appeared on the massive monitor…and one showcased a familiar foe.

"Kardiak," muttered Robin. "Savior, Gauntlet, get Raven. The rest of you, we're moving on ahead!"

"Got it," answered Savior as he abandoned his fussy attitude for the tactician's mindset he possessed during battle. Unsurprisingly, Gauntlet was being dragged behind him.

"WAIT, **_OW!_** **RUG BURN!**"

"Tell it to someone who cares."

Within seconds, the living room was empty.

xxxx

Savior calmly entered Raven's room, expecting to find her on her bed, surrounded by piles of books, scrolls, and tomes.

Instead, all he saw was her mirror on the bed, shimmering slightly in the darkness of the room. _So…she's in her mind. _With that magical mirror, Raven was able to travel into her own mind, for use during meditation.

What use it had for meditation was actually quite simple; it allowed Raven to talk with the other facets of her mind.

Savior grimaced. They would have to fight without Raven this time around. _Oh well._ "Come on 'Sergeant'. Let's go."

Savior dragged Gauntlet out of the Tower.

xxxx

Inside the dark and twisted realm of Raven's mind, we turn our attention to two Ravens.

"YOU'VE YET TO WIN!" yelled Id.

"I'LL DEFEAT YOU IN THE END!" yelled Superego as they continued their thumb war.

Oops. Wrong Ravens.

At a castle floating in the middle of space, we enter a massive library. Circular shelves hold hundreds upon hundreds of books. It is within these books that house Raven's memories, her knowledge, and her thoughts. Dozens of the books were floating about now, being analyzed by two different Ravens.

The real Raven.

And a Raven wearing a yellow cloak and hood, complete with eyeglasses. She was the part of Raven's personality that demonstrated Intellect.

The reason she had come into her own mind was simple; it was less of a chore to find something she knew, but couldn't exactly remember.

Intellect sighed as her experienced eyes analyzed all the information presented in the opened books floating around her. "I've not yet found what you're searching for."

"Keep searching," muttered Raven as she read a scroll before closing it and moving on to another. She quickly mumbled, "The floor's cold. Ever consider interior decorating?"

"It's YOUR mind," pointed out Intellect. "It's not my fault if everything is dark. At least we get snow around Christmas."

"Speaking of which…my Id and Superego haven't beaten each other yet?"

"No."

"Good. I'd rather be in the middle between the two extremes."

"A wise choice," complimented Intellect.

xxxx

Screaming.

A number of schoolchildren ran as fast their little legs could take them. Some hid beneath desks and inside closets. Anything to escaped the floating monstrosity that now hunted them.

If one didn't know better, the creature that now held a wailing girl in its thick gray tentacles looked like a giant, red pulsating heart, arteries and all. The mechanically augmented creature was known simply as Kardiak.

Its existence was a rather pitiful one. Created some years ago by Professor Maddy McScientist (name change to protect the innocent. Can't let spies know who the professor is!), Kardiak's purpose had been to wreak destruction. However, the mechanically enhanced being had no will and no mind of its own. Its only purpose for living…was to live. The only way he could live was to devour humans for their telomerases (enzymes with RNA that are at the very tips of DNA and shorten whenever a cell divides). Hence, this was why Kardiak absorbed children, their telomerases were quite long.

In a way, the infamous Lord of the Night would have called Kardiak a pure hunter. No malice. No hatred. Just a desire to survive and feed.

The creature burst through the door, inhaling the blonde-haired girl with its hollow tentacle-

SWISH!

The limb was cut off by a Birdarang, which circled around and landed in Robin's hand.

"You picked a bad day Kardiak!" confidently said Robin as he whipped out his Bo staff. "TITANS, **GO!**"

Starfire zoomed upward, going over Kardiak and striking its back with Starbolts. The heart-like creature slapped at her with its gray tendrils, whilst two move lunged at Beast Boy.

"Uh oh." The Changeling yipped before transforming into a rhino. The mighty beast roared as he charged at Kardiak, ramming his horn into the monter's gelatinous hide. He couldn't afford to get too much closer with all these tendrils waving about.

Terra, however, had no such inhibitions.

Robin yelled, "Careful! There's still a child in there!"

"Then let's get her out!" yelled Terra. **_"HUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"_** Spires of rock erupted from the street, jabbing at Kardiak. As expected, it dodged.

But this opened the door for another attack. "You wanna play rough? Well Cyborg says **EAT IT!**" His right hand converted into a Sonic Cannon, firing a blue-and-white ray of supersonic sound waves. The massive monster was sent flying, even as two new Titans arrived.

Savior, swinging like Spider-Man.

Gauntlet, hanging like a dead weight. Even so, the Gauntlet was out in full force…and, surprisingly, part of Noel's left hand was covered by the golden metal of the ancient artifact of the Old Ones. "Oh. We're here?"

"YES." Savior was just about ready to scream. "Now start carrying your own weight Gauntlet!"

"Sure thing Captain Stick-up-your-Butt," sarcastically muttered Gauntlet as he flexed his right arm.

All of a sudden, Kardiak lased out with a stretchy tentacle.

"Dodge!" yelled Savior as he sent the Shimmer out. A white, thin line of shimmering energy (hence the name) came out of Noel's wrist, latching onto the roof of a nearby building.

Naturally, Gauntlet had different plans of escaping. Gauntlet willed forth a hook out of yellow energy, sending it downward and latching it into the ground. But…with Gauntlet pulling down and Savior pulling sideways…they moved down diagonally. They had missed the initial strike by Kardiak…but what came next was more painful.

Case in point: Savior and Gauntlet's hands – still stuck together – latched onto a street lamp by accident. The resulting whiplash caused the two to rip around the pole (unpleasant extensions of the arm FTW), and…

**WHACK!**

Savior and Gauntlet slumped to the ground, a headache (well, in Noel's case, a worse one) taking the place of ambient noise. Finally, as the white-haired metahuman rubbed his head, he murmured, "Time for a change of plans."

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

_**Group Dynamics**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: BLARG. So tired. x.x

FYI, anyone remember the Superego/Id reference? ;P

See you soon, and please review!


	3. Group Dynamics

Standard Disclaimer: Must I say it again? I don't own the Teen Titans!

Author's Notes: The first big fight scene. Yay for the upcoming action!

Begin!

xxxx

_**Group Dynamics**_

xxxx

The creature known as Kardiak was on the move. It had no intention of letting its meal get away…and it had no intention of fighting before the meal was digested.

Of course, it would defend itself. And there was no way it was going to lose a meal like the last two times it had fought the Teen Titans.

Unfortunately, the troublesome heroes could be quite…persuasive…

"ERAGH!" yelled Robin as he combined two Birdarangs into a sword, then grabbing Starfire's hand as she tossed him into the air at the mechanical monstrosity. Kardiak simply floated to the side…right into the massive rock wall that had erupted from the street, summoned by Terra. The geokinetic broke off a section of the brown monolith, giving Robin a platform to stand on. "Okay Robin, do your thing!"

Robin let his actions speak for him; he gave out a battle cry as his sword sliced through the red, rubbery membrane of Kardiak, causing the juices – and the girl – to spill out. She shrieked as she fell…

_WUMP!_

…and then she was caught by Beast Boy, the pterodactyl. As he flew off to get the girl to a safe place, Robin yelled, "Okay, the girl's safe! Everyone hear that?"

"Then let Cyborg's butt-kicking commence!" He let loose with his Sonic Cannon, blasting Kardiak through Terra's tower of stone. It was immediately attacked by Starfire, who fired Starbolt after Starbolt at the child-eater.

Out of self-defense, the false heart – the cut by Robin having already healed – wrapped two tentacles around the Tamaranean, shook her back and forth like a rag doll, and slammed her into the street far below. The orange-skinned girl muttered, "Ooh…I see four Silkies…"

Robin grimaced. Kardiak may have been a pushover in their first battles…but they had had the help of Raven's magic back then. Now they had to deal with the monster without her, as she was seeking a cure for Noel and Robert's 'ailment'.

_Speaking of those two, where are they?_ Robin's thought was cut short by Kardiak as it charged at him.

xxxx

Savior was often known as a tactician…and for good reason. He constantly went over past battles, analyzing what went right and what went wrong (the latter far more than the former), mentally working on what could have been done better, and – at the end of the day – simply preparing for the next conflict (heck, he's got like two copies of Sun Tzu's _Art of War_).

Of course, nothing could have quite prepared him for what had now befallen him.

He was stuck to Gauntlet…and judging from the unfortunate head-to-head collision they had endured, he was in for a lot more trouble.

"Okay…" _Just calm down Noel, don't lose your temper…_ "Seeing as how we're both stuck together and uncoordinated at the moment, we'll have to proceed with caution. No fancy stuff in battle."

"Aw, but I LIKE fancy stuff. Especially china. You know, the kind that bulls like to break?"

……_is he TRYING to tick me off?_ Savior just took a deep breath. "You'll just have to hold off on the fancy stuff. I DON'T want us to hit each other again."

"But you hit me all the time!"

"…I don't want us to UNINTENTIONALLY hit each other again."

"Oh."

Savior smacked his head with his right hand. _Good grief…_ "Alright, let's just run. I'LL say what moves we'll do, got it?"

Gauntlet casually said, "Yeah yeah, sure sure."

"Fine, at least we're in agreement." Savior then glanced down the empty street; the others were fighting Kardiak further down by about three blocks. "Then let's go."

"Right-o!" The two burst off running…and then Gauntlet raised his right hand, bringing Savior's up with it. "Now…WE FLY!"

Savior paled. "Wait, I didn't say to get airborne-!"

Too late. Gauntlet sent out a line of yellow energy, which latched onto a nearby billboard. "Hi-ho Yellow, **AWAAAAAY!**" The two were immediately sent airborne, much to Savior's chagrin. The two closed the distance in a matter of moments…and Kardiak was surrounded by a storm of levitating rocks, blue sonic blasts, green Starbolts and exploding discs.

"**YOU IDIOT!** DON'T GO STRAIGHT INTO THE FIGHT!" roared Savior.

"And resist the chance of hogging the glory?" _He don't know me vewy well, do he?_ Gauntlet quite fluidly jumped from rock to rock, getting ever closer to their target.

Unfortunately, seeing as how Gauntlet was doing all of the moves, Savior was trying his hardest to not get hit…and he was being unsuccessful. He was being peppered by rocks on all sides (and the occasional Starbolt…and a boulder or two), and he was getting fed up. "**_GAUNTLET!_** THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO FIGHT!"

"And resist a chance to cleave this beast in twain? Surely you jest!" And so Gauntlet formed a yellow sword, raising it above his head. "Be felled by the blade, you…er…well, anyone who's played World of Warcraft can fill in the rest!" He swung.

Kardiak dodged.

Gauntlet then saw a hollow tentacle right in front of him. "Uh oh."

_SHOOP!_

Savior and Gauntlet were now inside Kardiak.

Savior glared at him. "I trucking hate you." Another groan.

"You read EGM's 'Big Mutha Trucker's' review?" asked Gauntlet. "Wow. And I thought you hated games."

Savior just fumed.

On the outside, Robin sweatdropped. "Wonderful. Okay guys, hold back on your attack until they get out!"

As the others backed away, Savior took this as his cue. "Okay Gauntlet, just don't do anything. I'm getting us out of here!" The Shimmer extended from his right hand's fingers, morphing into blades.

Suddenly, Kardiak pointed one of its tentacles at the incoming Beast Boy, who was just on his way back from dropping off the girl with the police.

Savior blinked. "Uh oh."

Kardiak shot them out of its body, causing the two to crash into Beast Boy. With a tremendous crash, they landed on the street below.

Before Robin could say anything, Kardiak suddenly sucked up several of Terra's rocks into his tentacles and started firing at the team. Robin yelped as he was forced to vacate his floating platform, using his grappling hook to escape harm. "Terra! Get your rocks away from Kardiak!"

"Gotcha!" Terra's hands glowed as her rock storm ceased, the boulders and pebbles clattering on the street below. She quickly set down on the street, running to Beast Boy's side. "Beast Boy! You okay?"

"Just five more minutes…" mumbled the Changeling, his eyes spinning.

That's when Terra suddenly realized that Gauntlet and Savior weren't in the crater with Beast Boy. _Where'd they go?_

"**TERRA!** STOP OOGLING BEAST BOY AND HELP OUT!" roared Cyborg as he dodged Kardiak's own rock barrage.

"Oh, right!" mumbled Terra, her face red. As she dragged Beast Boy into an alley, she was thankful he hadn't been conscious enough to hear that. _Thanks a lot Cyborg! I wasn't even looking at him! Not that I would mind lookingAH! FOCUS!_ Terra immediately leapt on one of the fallen boulders and took to the air.

As for Savior and Gauntlet…

xxxx

…they had gone into the toy store down the street.

Well, more like Gauntlet had gone in and dragged Savior behind him.

"May I ask, pray tell, what we're doing in a toy store?"

"I figured out a way to beat Kardiak," replied Gauntlet as he looked up and down the aisles. "Pokemon, Digimon, Tamagotchi…Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman…G.I. Joe, Thundercats…they still make toys for He-Man? NEXT AISLE."

Savior would've objected by either pulling Gauntlet out of the store or punching him in the face (and he felt like doing the latter). Unfortunately, Gauntlet had him inside a little bubble of Gauntlet energy, and he couldn't do much except sit. Personally, it was very annoying. Deciding to keep himself from bursting a blood vessel in any way possible, he asked, "And what way would that be?"

"And spoil it for the audience?"

**CRASH!**

"AAAH!" squealed the female at the cash register. "The wall just collapsed!"

Savior glared at Gauntlet. Gauntlet innocently replied, "Oh come now, we've broken the fourth wall lots of times and-FOUND IT." Gauntlet grabbed the box. "I'm surprised they still have toys like this in stock."

Savior glanced at the box through the sphere…and looked utterly dumbfounded. "How the junk is THAT supposed to help?"

"Once you find out, you'll be praising me for my genius!" replied Gauntlet with a twinkle in his eyes.

_More like committing you into an insane asylum_, thought Savior with a frown.

"Sorry bub, but you already went to the loony bin, so I can't do that. It'd be too unoriginal."

"…what?" _How'd he know what I was thinking?_ Savior paled; did that bonding spell somehow allow Gauntlet do read his thoughts? _Come to think of it, when he said I liked to overreact at the Tower…I was thinking about how he was making me dumber…_

"Good grief man, stop thinking! You're giving me a headache," complained the blonde teen as he walked out of the store and took off running.

Savior grimaced; he'd have to bring this new matter up to Raven back at the Tower.

Suddenly, a look of realization crossed his face. "…wait a second…did you buy that toy?"

"…uh…"

"You STOLE it?"

"I think of it as a gift for all our hard work."

"Stealing is stealing! Take it back!"

The sphere immediately disappeared, and Savior was suddenly being dragged along the asphalt.

"OW! **HEY!**"

"Revenge, my dear Watson."

xxxx

Kardiak's tentacles suddenly started to shift. The nanites that the tentacles were composed of were very malleable, and allowed for a good deal of metamorphosis. The tentacles turned into hands as the creature hovered over the ground, making good use of Terra's own rocks as projectiles.

Cyborg was occupied with just blasting and punching the rocks that came his way. "Aw for the love of…TERRA! Can't you take this all away from Kardiak!"

"I'm trying Cy! There's simply too many!" screamed the geokinetic as she stopped all rocks that came her way. In the panic induced by Kardiak's assault, she didn't think of merely squishing Kardiak with the road. But then again, since when did superheroes do things the easy way?

Unfortunately, Kardiak was a bit more willing to go the easier way. Its hands wedged into the asphalt, lifting it up with relative ease. Then, with a mighty heave, the monstrosity flipped a massive section of the road up, threatening to crush Cyborg and Terra.

"Uh…that's not good," muttered Cyborg as the road curled upward like a wave, threatening to swallow them whole. "Not good, not good, not good!"

"INCOMING!"

Terra and Cyborg whirled around as Beast Boy morphed into a triceratops, smashing into the road wave. The pavement shattered into a shower of asphalt and stone, raining down harmlessly.

Beast Boy turned back to his normal self, grinning widely. "Well?"

Cyborg grinned. "I always knew that hard head of yours was good for something!"

"Ha ha ha! You got that right!" Then he blinked. "Wait…HEY!"

"You guys can argue later, LOOK OUT!" Terra's scream gave Cyborg and Beast Boy enough time to dodge Kardiak's charge. Apparently, it was now content with simply ramming into the meddlesome teens that had interfered and rescued its food.

However, Robin and Starfire were immediately there to continue the fight. Starfire fired green beams from her eyes, pushing Kardiak back as Robin grabbed his grappling hook and fired. The sharp tip embedded itself into Kardiak's gooey innards, and the Teen Wonder immediately handed the device to Starfire, who used one hand to keep him from falling. "NOW!"

Starfire clutched the grip with her right hand as she flew high into the sky. The hook remained latched inside Kardiak…and the mechanical beast went upward as well. Naturally, it struggled to break free, but the hook managed to hold. Starfire continued flying upward, dropping Robin onto the roof of a skyscraper as she continued ascending into the sky and above the clouds.

Finally, she immediately zoomed downwards. Kardiak jerked as it was suddenly pulled in the opposite direction. Faster and faster…

Starfire abruptly swung, sending Kardiak towards the ground at an even higher speed. She let go of the grappling hook, leaving the monster to its fate.

_**KA-RACK!**_

A miniature thunderclap rang through the air as Kardiak slammed into the already-ruined road, creating a miniature shockwave that rippled outwards, shattering several dozen nearby windows. Smoke and rubble shot into the air, giving the nearby law enforcement teams waiting to move in a bit of a scare.

Starfire hovered up to Robin and bashfully said, "I hope you do not mind that I have lost your 'grabbing hook'."

Robin smiled. "No worries. I've got plenty back home." He then held out his hand. "Nice move by the way."

Starfire smiled even more widely as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "It was your idea. Kardiak is 'the roadkill' now, yes?"

"That would be correct," replied Robin as he descended with Starfire to the ground below.

Then his eyes widened. "Uh…I may have spoken too soon."

Indeed; the mechanical monstrosity was already moving. Its body had taken a battering, but it would go on as long as it could. At least, until its power source – a top-secret device that was somehow powered by the genetic material of those Kardiak fed upon – ran out of juice.

Suddenly, Gauntlet and Savior walked through the dust cloud that had been formed from the monster's collision. However, Savior looked a bit worse for the wear, no thanks to the fact that Gauntlet had dragged him across several blocks worth of pavement.

Savior glared at his tormenter, growling "You're putting me through Mary Sue-to-canon character level abuse."

"Yeah yeah, tell it to Phil," jokingly retorted Gauntlet. _YES! I was SO waiting to use that line on him!_ "And now…for Kardiak!"

The monstrosity's tentacles shifted into deadly looking spikes. It was through playing around.

However, Gauntlet had an ace up his sleeve. "And now, I shall defeat you…**WITH THE POWER OF HEART!**" He thrust his left arm up, which had a golden ring with a red heart on it.

Silence.

Nothing happened.

Savior dryly said, "Congratulations. You've accomplished nothing. Now what?"

"Just felt like doing that," commented Gauntlet as he took the ring off. "And now for the real plan!"

Kardiak charged.

The ring, surrounded by golden energy, was launched by Gauntlet.

"This isn't going to work…" muttered Savior.

The ring penetrated the metallic gray base in which all of Kardiak's major systems resided and from which his tentacles sprouted.

Kardiak promptly and instantaneously dropped to the ground, stiff as a corpse.

Savior just looked on as if losing his sanity was a normal thing. "…I think I'm going to snap just by asking…but how in the Wichita did that work?" He blinked; that didn't even SOUND like the swear word he had used.

"It's simple! Using the principle that two wrongs don't make a right, two hearts don't make a living person. Therefore, two hearts equals death!"

Savior just stared. "…can I have whatever drugs you're on?"

In all actuality, Gauntlet had simply jammed the ring inside Kardiak's power source, disrupting the flow of energy to the rest of the creature. But why spoil Gauntlet's fun, or Savior's misery?

"Well, at least we managed to stop Kardiak," said Robin as he stepped onto the scene with the others. A crew from S.T.A.R. Labs was already approaching, to properly 'dispose' of Kardiak (although Robin knew they would just lock it up and study it. He often wondered if the scientists ever REALLY disposed of anything that came their way). "Was the girl okay Beast Boy?"

"Roger Robin!"

"Good…so I suppose that's it then," finished Robin.

"Good then!" exclaimed Cyborg. "Cause I'm in the mood to go home and make some ol'fashioned pizza: Cy-Style!"

Beast Boy asked, "Will it include tofu?"

"NO!"

"Then it'll probably taste like a stone," cracked the Changeling. Terra snickered.

Cyborg slyly grinned. "You know, Garfield would eat my pizza."

Beast Boy twitched as he transformed into Garfield the Cat. "Okay, you got me there." Terra continued to have her laughs.

Meanwhile, Savior and Gauntlet were already on the way back to the Tower…well, mostly Savior swinging there. Gauntlet had conveniently decided to become a dead weight again.

xxxx

Noon.

Titans Tower.

Raven's room.

Raven stared quizzically at Robert. "You're saying you could hear Noel's thoughts?"

"You say it like it's something big. You hear thoughts all the time!"

"I feel people's emotions, not their thoughts. I'm an empath. If you want a psychic, call the Martian Manhunter," calmly replied Raven.

Gauntlet shrugged. "I'm just saying…anyway, can I go now? I'm hungry."

"No. I want to know if there's any other abnormalities," asked Raven. "Is there anything else odd you want to tell me?"

Robert held up his right hand, still conjoined to Noel's left (the Gauntlet was deactivated). "Aside from the fact I'm stuck to him? No." Then he looked thoughtful. "Well, except this."

All of a sudden, several Shimmer strands wiggled out of Noel's nose as Robert dramatically roared, "FIST OF THE NOSE HAIR STYLE: SNOT FOR YOU!"

Savior impulsively recalled the Shimmer, pinching his nose as he stared at Gauntlet in astonishment. "What the? **HOW THE _COMMA_ DID YOU PULL THAT OFF?**"

"Not sure," muttered Robert, looking disinterested. "I'm not really thinking clearly, due to the fact I haven't eaten lunch yet. And I can practically SMELL the pizza."

"So can I," remarked Raven. "The kitchen's just down the hall."

"SEE? I'm so hungry that even she can smell the pizza!"

"I'm still not hearing how you managed to use the Shimmer!"

**"QUIET."** Raven's tone silenced them both. "Judging from what research I've done on the last spell Robert cast, it would seem that if it's cast incorrectly, the fusing is done gradually, bit by bit. As things stand, the person who cast the spell to begin with will start feeling the effects first…hence why Robert is able to hear Noel's thoughts, and is also able to command the Shimmer. Even if you can't override Noel's control."

Gauntlet snickered. "If I could, I'd rewire his brain! Think of the experimentation! I could create…FRANKENBERT'S MONSTER, THE FALLEN SAVIOR!"

"…"

"What, you don't get it? You know, Frankenbert? Taking the 'bert' from Robert and fusing it with Frankenstein."

"…"

"Sheesh, tough crowd."

**POW!**

Gauntlet was promptly knocked unconscious by the right hook to his face. Savior exhaled with total relief. "That felt SO good."

"Rough time?"

"You have no idea," remarked Savior.

"Look on the bright side," offered Raven with a slight smile. "At least it can't get any worse."

xxxx

Murphy's Law: If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.

And it had indeed gotten worse, as Noel watched the news in the main living room while Gauntlet ate leftover pizza for dinner. It was time for the evening news…and guess what they showed?

"**HEROEROTICA: SAVIOR AND GAUNTLET ARE 'TEAMMATES' IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. FIND OUT IN OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT WHAT WE GLEANED FROM WATCHING TODAY'S BATTLE BETWEEN THE TEEN TITANS AND THE MONSTROSITY KNOWN AS KARDIAK."**

Savior just muttered, "As I've said before, over and over again…the mass media sucks eggs."

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

_**Days In Our Sucky Lives…**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: The pain has just begun for Noel and Robert. I'm sure some of you are wondering why Savior seems to be getting the brunt of the punishment…call it universal retribution for putting down Gauntlet all the time. :P

In any case, next chapter also features the appearance of a canon character that…LM hasn't introduced yet!

(GASP!)

See you soon, and please review!


	4. Days of Our Sucky Lives

Standard Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Teen Titans!

Author's Notes: Ohnoes! I've been accused of favoritism!

To that I say…silly silly LM. Coming from you, that sounds silly. :P

But speaking seriously, there will be a balance. Robert will get his own torment…although, to be honest, Savior kind of deserves the unintentional walloping Gauntlet's giving him. Just as he's been unfairly treating Gauntlet, it's time he gets a little unfair treatment.

But don't worry, there will be a balance. Just like life and death, order and chaos, black and white, yadda yadda yadda…

Begin!

xxxx

**_Days of Our Sucky Lives… _**

xxxx

A small, nigh-invisible drone hovered outside one of the windows of Titans Tower. Normally, an alarm would've sounded, as an unauthorized signal was being sent within the Tower perimeter…but the drone was too well made for that.

So it watched Savior and Gauntlet…particularly, their fused hands. It analyzed the image…and even from outside, it could sense the magical aura around them.

And the one who was seeing these transmitted images folded his hands as he contemplated this. "Hmm…how interesting."

xxxx

"**PFFFFT!** They just said WHAT?" sputtered Gauntlet as he stared at the big-screen TV, his mouth agape.

Savior just rubbed his temples as the TV paraded images of himself and Gauntlet holding hands. _Leave it to the vultures to take everything out of context._

Then they showed a photo of when the duo had been stuck inside of Kardiak…and believe it or not, the monster's red mass had been filtered out. "OH COME ON!" roared Gauntlet. "WE WEREN'T EVEN DOING ANYTHING!"

"That's the news for you Gauntlet."

"But reporters should be reporting the facts!" Then a look of realization came to his face. "Oh yeah. Media doesn't care about facts. Duh."

"For once, we're in agreement." Savior immediately shivered. _I just agreed with Gauntlet on something. The Apocalypse is nigh._

Robert Candide grimaced as he finished off the slice of pizza. "Man, this just made me more hungry." He stood up and tried walking when he found that Noel wouldn't move. "Hello? I'd like to go get more pizza from the fridge."

"And my back is still sore from you dragging me all over the pavement today," muttered the white-haired teen as fingered the bandages on his back. _I still don't know how the Mel that plan of his worked._

Robert humorously said, "You didn't have any problem when I used a fire extinguisher to help destroy Mortimer."

"1) Stop reading my thoughts. 2) Point taken. 3) Thanks for reminding me how improbable THAT victory was. 4) GET YOUR OWN GANG FOOD."

Gauntlet raised an eyebrow. "Gang food? What would I begin with? Pot, crack, smack, heroin, shrooms, meth, hash? That's practically all gangsters consume anyway. That, and bad rap music."

Savior's glare indicated he didn't appreciate the sarcasm.

"Sheesh, fine." Robert activated the Gauntlet and opened the refrigerator with a yellow hand, which grabbed the closest thing in the fridge and retracted back.

It wasn't pizza.

Rather, it was a purple bowl that held berries of a reddish color. "What are these?"

"Zorkaberries. A delicacy of Kory's. And you don't want to eat them," warned Savior.

"Why? Do they taste bad?"

Noel sighed. "Look, it's going against my better judgment to even WARN you about ANYTHING, but seriously, DON'T EAT THEM."

Robert grabbed one. "Seeing as how you told me no, I have to eat one now just to spite you." Chomp and a gulp. His eyes lit up. "Wow. These are GOOD."

Savior groaned as Gauntlet devoured a whole handful. "I warned you. Let it be known I warned you. Whatever happens from this point on is YOUR fault."

"Whatever," replied the blonde teen as he ate more.

/5 Minutes Later/

"DUDE…your hair's WHITE. Black guys would SO hate you."

Savior grumbled. Starfire's zorkaberries had a bit of a debilitating effect on humans…a hallucinogenic one. However, seeing as how he was stuck, he had no choice but to humor his blonde nemesis. "I went through enough of the perceived racism with Dunagan and the Anglo-Saxon Patrol. No thanks."

"Yeah, whatever you talking sunflower…I think." He ate the last of the zorkaberries.

Savior's eyes suddenly widened. "Don't say I didn't warn you. He immediately surrounded his whole body with a Shimmer shield (which meant he had to include Gauntlet's right hand as well).

"Coooool…a cocoon!" mumbled Gauntlet with a mad giggle.

Then he turned.

And saw Starfire, her eyes wide.

Gauntlet exclaimed, "Eew! Kory, you've gotten fat!"

**"YOU HAVE EATEN MY ZORKABERRIES! _AND YOU HAVE INSULTED MY PERSONAL APPEARANCE!_ _RAAAAAAH!_" **

In the back of Robert's mind, the charging Tamaranean signaled 'trouble'. "Ah crap."

**BOOM! **

Inside the protective Shimmer cocoon, Savior could only feel jolts and minor bumps as the utterly one-sided battle raged on the outside. One minute later, all movement ceased.

Noel tentatively recalled the Shimmer. Robert was now a burnt husk on the ground, and the couch was mostly ruined. "I warned you."

"Noel…I see Superman flying around my head…" He promptly passed out.

xxxx

Late night.

Raven's room.

Raven's bed.

Noel Collins grimaced as the slight chill of Raven's aura covered his back. "You don't have to do this."

"And I wasn't here for the battle. Besides, most of these injuries weren't even battle wounds."

"An unfortunate fact I have to now live with," grumbled Savior.

The empath sighed as she slid her dainty feet out of her boots. "I take it the day hasn't gone very well?"

Noel snorted. "Wow, that's the understatement of the day. Not only was I dragged along the street on my back, but now the media thinks he and I are an item." He glanced over at Robert, who was on the floor beside Raven's bed, still unconscious. "Sorry if I sound bitter…this isn't your fault. I'm just upset."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have minded if it was my hand you were stuck to."

"I wish," wishfully said Noel. "Alas, the universe has seen fit to punish me by sticking me with Captain Nimrod."

"It's always been a mystery to me Noel." Raven took off her cloak, wearing nothing but her dark blue leotard now. "Ever since Robert joined this team, you've always been on his case. Belittling him, trying to make him feel like he's not even part of the Titans…you've lessened as time passed, but I still feel hints of animosity and distrust from you whenever Gauntlet gets close to you…or whenever you start talking to him…or whenever he starts talking…"

Savior interrupted, "I get the point."

"So why?"

The white-haired metahuman sighed as he laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "That's actually a good question. I'm honestly not sure."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Noel nodded. "I mean, there's the fact that when he joined us, it was because he was forced to as punishment for robbing a bank multiple times. I mean, just earlier today! He stole a toy from the toy store!"

"In my defense, I would like to say that I actually took some money from your pocket and sent it to the toy store in a letter. Call it retroactive payment."

Savior immediately put Gauntlet to sleep with a Shimmer strand. It was a very useful talent of his; considering that the Shimmer was actually his mutated nervous system, it allowed him to interface with other beings' nervous systems as well. Hence, in this case, he simply poked a specific area of the brain to get the desired reaction. _That should shut him up for several hours._ "And how the heck did he pickpocket my cash and send it in a letter without me knowing?"

"In either case, he paid for the toy."

"Yeah, by stealing the money from me." Noel grumbled as he scratched his head. "I mean, seriously…his moral code is not quite 'there'. And be honest; he doesn't take this life seriously enough."

Raven countered, "He can be serious when it matters. Beast Boy is a jokester, and you never pick on him for it."

Noel countered Raven's counter by saying, "Gar lost both of his parents and he got his powers from a virus that nearly killed him. Robert got his powers from a demigod who picked his name at random from a phonebook. I mean, he's not exactly as tempered in fire as we've been."

"And how is that important?"

"Tim lost his parents and is a partner to Batman. Kory was sold into slavery. Victor's mom was killed by an otherdimensional beast and he was so heavily injured that his father turned him into a cyborg. I already talked about Gar. You were the child of a demon lord who wanted to use you as a portal to this realm. I'm the son of Maxwell Collins. Tara was on the run for most of her life, accidentally causing the deaths of hundreds with powers she couldn't control. Robert? He lived with his grandmother in a boarding house in a city with a higher metahuman population than most countries. I mean, come on…Uberton has a superhero named MARMOT MAN."

"And?"

"Robert's green!"

"WAS green," corrected Raven. "Since he's joined this team, he's helped us in battles with Slade, Kurai, the HIVE, Godsend, Whim…need I go on?"

Noel grumbled. He hated being proved wrong. "Okay, point taken. But still…he acts like a total lunatic!"

"And the fact he's still managed to maintain his innocence despite this life is an admirable quality in and of itself."

"…well, he has no tact! He tends to say EXACTLY the wrong thing at the wrong time."

"A lot of humans have that problem. It's not unique to Robert."

"Gah, fine, you win!" Savior rubbed his head out of irritation. "Fine, I guess my reasons for hating Gauntlet are trivial at best. Maybe it's because we're naturally oil and water. I don't know, and I don't freaking care. After all, I mean…he can read my MIND now. That's just wrong."

Raven calmly took Noel's right hand. "And I'm working on a way to separate you two. So just chin up and deal with it."

The white-clad teen simply chuckled as he shook his head; debating with her on intellectual subjects was often interesting…but in arguments like this, her common sense usually won the day. "Did I ever say how much I love you?"

"Not today." Raven so snuggled up to her boyfriend. "And since you've had a rough day, you deserve a little break."

Noel suddenly blinked. "Okay, now I'm not one to decline an offer like this…but in case you've forgotten…" He pointed at the comatose Gauntlet on the floor. "He's in the same room as us."

"You said he'd be out for several hours." The purple-haired sorceress flashed Noel a semi-seductive glance. "Besides, while I was doing my research, Id took a break from fighting Superego and tried to convince me to do all sorts of things that aren't fit for an X-rated film, much less a T-rated story."

"Those two are STILL fighting?"

"I'd rather they do so. I wouldn't want to be at one extreme or the other…but either way…just think of this as 'pity sex'."

Savior sarcastically snarked. "Oh **_I_** see now. You just feel sorry for me."

"Partially true."

"Well, doesn't really matter either way. This is one kind of pity I don't mind." So the two kissed, proceeding to lose each other in their passionate embrace.

/A Few Hours Later/

The hour was late, the sheets were tangled, and Savior was panting heavily. "Some 'pity'."

"Oh hah hah," lightheartedly retorted Raven as she draped an arm over her lover. Sexual intercourse was something that the empath had never quite fully understood – or appreciated – when her father Trigon the Terrible had still been alive. To love someone was to risk letting him free. But upon Trigon's defeat (and his eventual death at the hands of other demon lords), her emotional side had been freed up. The one she had to thank for that was Noel. "I love you by the way."

"As do I," replied Savior as he kissed her on the lips, their naked bodies (well, Noel still had his shirt on, cause he couldn't take it off due to his predicament) pressed against each other as they cuddled.

"Cuddling…kiss to seal the deal…'I love you by the way'…"

Savior and Raven froze.

They slowly turned their heads…and saw Robert holding a notepad, writing with a pen in a yellow hand formed by the Gauntlet.

The oblivious superhero turned to face them. "What? I'm just taking notes. Don't wanna be unprepared whenever I lose my virginity."

_"How long were you up?"_ demanded Savior, his frame rattling with utter embarrassment and frustration.

"Around the time Raven was riding you like a bucking bronco. Or was it where you were on top of her, moaning like a whale? I forget."

**_"OUT!"_** impulsively screamed Raven as she opened her door with a thought and shot Robert in the chest with a powerful bolt of black energy. Unfortunately, this caused Noel to go flying as well.

**SLAM!**

They landed against the wall outside Raven's room, which shut automatically. Moments later, they heard it lock.

Savior just stared at Gauntlet, once again realizing why exactly he hated him: because somehow, inexplicably, he managed to make his life miserable. "I ducking hate you, you Belgium."

"Ooh, Hitchhiker's jokes. Careful; the Martians would execute you for using that word."

Noel just stared at Robert, utterly flabbergasted. "Are you RETARDED? Do you even THINK? My girlfriend just kicked me out because you were taking notes about what she and I do in BED!"

Robert raised a hand. "May I say that the bronco bit looked uncomfortable? Did that hurt your-"

**"SHUT IT,"** growled Savior, his patience all but gone. "JUST…" He inhaled…then exhaled forcefully, moving into the realm of indifference. "Forget it. I just want to get some clothes on and go to sleep."

"Fine by me," replied Gauntlet, being pulled forcefully along by Noel as they walked through a series of halls toward Savior's room. It was a rather awkward trip for Noel, seeing as how he was completely naked from the waist down. Fortunately, Gauntlet was too sleepy to be his usual self.

"By the way…mine's bigger than yours."

_Spoke too soon._ "And is there a reason why I should _care?_"

"Nope. Just letting you know that I AM SUPERIOR! I AM THE **ALPHA** MALE!"

"And yet you have no love interest at all."

"…yep. It sucks."

Savior smirked. "Gee, I wonder WHY you have no love interest."

"Ouch. That was a low shot. Shields are at twenty percent. She can't take no more!"

Savior grimaced. "Stow the commentary…"

As they walked along, they were oblivious to the blond geokinetic known as Tara Markov as she exited her room to head to the bathroom.

Then she sleepily saw a naked Noel pulling Robert along (who was clothed, thankfully).

She blinked.

Then she walked backwards into her room, deciding to wake up from this homoerotic dream she was apparently in.

xxxx

The living room.

Midnight.

"So…why couldn't we just sleep on your bed?" asked Gauntlet as he scratched his blonde hair.

"And get you all over it?" retorted an irritable Noel, now wearing pants.

"It's better than a couch."

"At least it IS a bed. Yours is hidden under too many dirty clothes to qualify." _And I thought Beast Boy's room was dirty._

"Hey, I wanted to get a clean pair of socks!"

"You got those socks up off the floor. They are NOT clean."

"Geez, what are you, a Communist?"

"I'm not, but…wait. WHAT? What does Communism have to do with anything, much less your extremely cluttered pigsty you call a bedroom? It's just…gah, forget it." Noel just plopped down onto the couch.

Robert blinked. "Uh…what am I supposed to sleep on? The floor?"

"Use the Gauntlet to form a cushion or something."

"Oh. Right." Gauntlet formed a yellow mattress, which he promptly jumped away. "Ah…American ingenuity."

_Whatever_, thought Noel with a roll of the eyes. He just wanted to sleep and forget about what had just happened in his girlfriend's room (well, the bad part anyway).

A few minutes passed.

"Noel."

Noel tried his hardest not to scream. "WHAT?"

"Sorry for ruining your private time with Raven."

The white-haired teen blinked; that had certainly come out of left field. But he was too tired to fully appreciate it, so he went with his standard response. "Whatever…"

"…and just for the record, is that a tattoo of George Burns on her left butt cheek, or is it actually a birthmark?"

**"EYES SHUT." **

"Aye aye, mon Capitan…though it would explain why she kept saying 'Oh God!'"

**_"ROBERT…" _**

"Shutting up now."

xxxx

/NEXT DAY/

Morning.

Atop Titans Tower, Beast Boy transformed into a rooster and crowed to greet the rising sun.

Inside the living room, Savior wearily sat up. He was a feeling a bit better from last night's 'incident', and his back felt a good deal better. _But I still have to apologize to Raven for something that wasn't my fault…_

Then he realized he was sitting on a floating bed of yellow energy. It was right next to the small computer that the Titans used for personal reasons (sorry, but the big, giant computer was off-limits). "What the?"

"I woke up early. Wanted to check my e-mail. But I'm not popular enough with the kids to warrant my own e-mail address, so I checked Robin's. I'm still checking."

"And don't you think Robin would be mad?" He then thought about it some more. "On second thought, you're probably doing him a favor."

"**Dear Robin, have you ever thought of getting matching uniforms. The Fantastic Four does it, so why don't you?** Oh, perhaps because matching uniforms are ALWAYS itchy. DELETED! **Dear Robin, can I have a full body shot of Starfire?** No, but I wish _I_ had one. DELETED! **Robin, do you get it in the end from Savior and Gauntlet too?**" Gauntlet groaned. "Wonderful…now as if the Batman x Robin thing wasn't enough, now they're on a Robin x Savior/Gauntlet rampage! It's the Spawn of Wertham, seeking to destroy our kind! Quick Savior, we must put a baby in a rocket ship and send him to a faraway planet!"

Savior just grimaced as he felt the urge a) smack Gauntlet and b) to disinfect his left hand. "If there's any bright side to this, at least it's not between you and me."

"**Dear Robin, can you please show this story to Savior and Gauntlet? Many thanks!** Oh, what's this?" Gauntlet clicked the link that came with the e-mail. "Ah, fanfiction…the last bastion of Star Trek nerds and DBZ fans." And so Gauntlet read. His look of hyperactive boredom (oxymoron, I know, but it fits so perfectly!) transformed into one of confusion…and then into one of horror. "Oh. My. GOD."

"What is it?" muttered Savior, finally leaning in close enough to read. His look of indifference transformed into one of disbelief…and then into one of horrified rage. "NO. **FLICKING.** **_WAY._**" He gazed at the story title. "What the? 'Unseen Attractions'? What is this _nickel?_" Another wince. _GAAAAH!_

"The horrors of slash," muttered Robert. "But still…YECK. That was graphic."

Savior roughly pushed Gauntlet out of the chair and used the Shimmer to serve as his right hand. "Okay, who sent that e-mail…'Prisionero', eh? You're about to get an angry e-mail."

"Oh no, a disgruntled Savior's gone postal! Just like the Calendar Man, Prisionero's days are numbered! And this guy's on thin ice, cause he's about to achieve a breakthrough…in pain!"

"Seriously, enough of the bad puns," grumbled Savior as he tentatively typed out one word…and smiled. He couldn't think or say bad words…but he could type them. "Thank God for loopholes."

/1 Minute Later/

"And…send." Noel sat back to appreciate his work. "I think that should get the message across."

xxxx

Elsewhere…

"MOMMY! SAVIOR HURT MY SELF-ESTEEM!"

"Don't worry sweetie, public school will make your self-esteem all better."

"YAY! I love government indoctrination!" exclaimed Prisionero.

xxxx

Savior snorted. "That situation was a load of bunk anyway. Raven leaving me for Beast Boy? Not gonna happen. Besides, he's eyeing Terra and vice-versa, but they're too chicken to move on it."

"And if that situation DID happen, I'd pick up Terra on the rebound instead of you. Because, for one, she's a girl, and she's pretty good looking, though she could stand to fill out a bit," finished Gauntlet.

Noel cynically said, "Oh no, don't tell her to eat more. That's to a woman's self-esteem what kryptonite is to Superman. Sheesh…these anorexic supermodels are so thin and they treat carbohydrates as poison. It's just idiotic."

"Still, who the heck was that 'Scalpel' guy in the story?" asked Robert. "I don't recall seeing a Scalpel around here."

"Probably a feeble attempt at a self-insert to prop up his own self-esteem so he doesn't cry at night."

xxxx

In jolly old England…

"Au contraire Savior! You couldn't be more wrong about Nigel!" declared Jedi-And as he worked on the unreleased _Flashing Lights and Sounds_.

xxxx

"In any case," said Savior as got out of the chair, closing the e-mail program. "I think it's time we start working in the training room. I don't know how long we're going to be stuck like this, but we should at least get used to fighting together in battle."

"Can we at least eat breakfast first?"

Savior grimaced…and he simply shrugged. Breakfast wouldn't hurt. Besides, he was a little hungry himself. "Sure, whatever."

After all, what could go wrong?

/6 Minutes Later/

Robin yawned as he walked into the living room; he wanted to get a quick bite before helping Savior and Gauntlet get a hang on working together. "Hmm…what to have? Pancakes or waff…les…"

The leader of the Titans stared at the kitchen within the living room. Water roared up from the broken faucet like a geyser, smoke was drifting upward from the toaster and a pan, some broken eggs littered the floor, Noel was covered in flour, and Robert had burn marks in the shape of a stove top on his shirt, which also doused with grease.

Tim blinked. "Uh…"

"Seriously Tim, don't ask. You REALLY don't want to know." Savior spat out some flour as he glared at Gauntlet. "Remind me why I tolerate you again?"

"I got bacon grease on my shirt."

"Don't care."

"I fell on the hot stove."

"Don't care."

"I feel like my flesh is being eaten by ravenous fleas."

"Don't care."

Robin sighed as he strode quickly to Cyborg's room. He needed to use Vic's Super Soaker XG (basically, the howitzer of squirt guns, invented by the Cy-guy himself).

So once again, Murphy's Law had its way.

xxxx

The Training Room. For all intents and purposes, it was a plain white room, with only a set of windows separating Robin from Savior and Gauntlet.

Tim spoke into a microphone. **"Okay guys, we're just going to do simple stuff first. Understand?"**

"Understood," replied Savior.

"Okie-dokie," replied Gauntlet. Both of them were wet after the soaking Tim had given them (it was preferable to a shower; NEITHER of them wanted a shower now). They still wore the same clothes (which was a bit noticeable on Gauntlet, as his shirt sported a burn marks), though it didn't really matter at the moment.

**"Alright, now just run a lap around the room." **

Gauntlet moaned. "Laps? What is this, P.E.?"

**"Do it." **

"Fine fine," muttered Gauntlet as he broke into a brisk jog alongside Savior. The latter had a longer stride, so Robert had to run a bit faster to make up for it.

**"Alright, good…from what Raven told me this morning, it seems you can control the Shimmer. Is that true Rob?" **

The Shimmer suddenly sprouted from Noel's chin, wiggling like a thin goatee. "Yep," replied Robert.

**"Okay…now Savior, have you tried controlling the Gauntlet?" **

"No…but I might as well try." Noel closed his eyes, concentrating as he tried to get a feel for the Gauntlet…nothing…nothing…THERE.

The Gauntlet suddenly activated, and it shot out a yellow strand the wiggled like a worm. "Not much…but yes."

Gauntlet mock-gasped. "Oh my gosh! He stole my powers! WE HAVE A THIEF IN OUR MIDST!"

**"Can the comedy routine Robert, this is serious. We don't know how long it'll take Raven to come up with a spell that nullifies your 'problem', but until then, you two will need to work together. Understood Noel?" **

"Understood Robin," answered Savior, although he briefly glared at Gauntlet. "Thought it'll be a bit DIFFICULT to work with someone who follows his impulses, to say the least."

**"Note taken and filed. Doesn't matter. You two will need to work together more than ever before. It'll be tough, but that's life. Deal with it." **

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Well SOMEONE'S Mr. Snippy today." Robin's glare shut him up.

**"Okay…I'm going to send out some test drones. They won't attack, they'll just dodge. Destroy them in 20 seconds." **

Four metallic drones that looked like gray spheres suddenly floated out from a hole in the ceiling. They zoomed around the duo at high speed, as if daring them to attack.

"No need to move, just attack from a distance," commanded Savior.

"Sure thing Goku," said Gauntlet with a smile as he formed a minigun out of yellow energy. "HASTA LA VISTA, BABIES!" Yellow lasers shot out of the minigun, blasting two of the drones to bits. Noel was simply content to slice through them with two Shimmer strands.

**"Nice job you two. But don't you think that was a bit overboard Gauntlet?" **

Gauntlet blinked. "No, why?"

Savior muttered, "You used a minigun to destroy drones. Drones that are smaller than our fists. That DEFINES excessive."

"There ain't no such thing as excessive."

Noel rolled his eyes.

**"Okay, now we'll move on to the attack drones. Same time frame. 20 seconds." **

Three drones with red 'eyes' suddenly descended from the same hole in the ceiling as the previous drones. They immediately bombarded Savior and Gauntlet with red lasers. Savior roared, "GAUNTLET! SHIELD!"

Robert immediately summoned a massive yellow shield to block the laser barrage. Noel wasted no time in slipping Shimmer strands around the shield and slicing the drones in twain.

Robin smiled from behind the window. There was hope for the two yet. **"Good. Now, let's try some complex maneuvers…"**

/1 Hour Later/

**"Excellent. Now…for the final test." **

Training had been more or less successful. There was the occasional goof (for instance Robert tripped up Noel when they tested their abilities against each other, accidentally smacking their heads into each other, etcetera…) or two, but it had been pretty smooth so far.

Gauntlet wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Did it ever occur to you to install air conditioning in this room?"

"Deal with it Rob," muttered Savior. He had to begrudgingly admit that Raven had had a point; Gauntlet wasn't exactly 'green' anymore. When he wanted to, he could be quite the fighter.

A hole appeared in the floor as a whirring sound was heard; something was being brought up on a small lift. **"You're about to face a replica of Slade, although his internal A.I. has been set to a lower difficulty for the purposes of this test. If you're not careful, the android COULD fatally injure you."**

_Gee, I hate'd to see it on maximum_, thought Robert.

"Suck it up Rob." Robert gaped at Noel, who merely smirked.

The lift stopped, and the robotic replica stood there. It looked eerily similar; from the black uniform down to the mask. The robotic eye glared at them with palpable coldness.

**"You guys have five minutes to destroy Slade. Go!" **

Slade immediately pulled out an Uzi and opened fire. Savior created a Shimmer shield, causing the bullets to bounce off harmlessly. Gauntlet gazed around the shield to try and pick off the-

Slade had already jumped over the shield. Robert paled as he roared, "SAVIOR, LOOK OUT!"

Too late. A side kick from the android sent Noel crashing into his own shield with a thud, which caused Robert to smack against it as well. Slade discarded the Uzi – just as Savior turned the shield into a myriad of bladed Shimmer strands – and pulled out his katana, slicing through several of the strands.

**_"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"_** howled Savior as he fell to his knees. Gauntlet suddenly grimaced; a twinge of pain had erupted in his right hand. Was he starting to feel Noel's pain now?

His thoughts would have to wait till later, for he immediately punched Slade with a yellow energy fist. The robot would have smashed against the wall…if it didn't rebound with his legs, rolled onto the floor, and immediately propelled his feet into Gauntlet's face.

The duo was sent flying by the blow. Gauntlet grimaced as he cradled his bleeding lip…and a shadow came over him.

Slade stood above them, his eye glaring coldly at them.

"I think you made the robot too lifelike Robin!" yelled Gauntlet.

Slade raised his katana and swung…and stopped several inches above Robert's head.

A Shimmer strand had pierced the robot's chest, disrupting the flow of power to the body. Savior smirked. "Check and mate."

Gauntlet and Savior smashed the robot's head from each side. It remained where it stood, broken and leaking with hydraulic fluid.

Robin sighed with relief; his finger had been hovering over the 'Disengage' button, which would've terminated the Slade replica with a miniature EMP blast. **"Nice work guys. Cut it a little close there."**

"Oh ha ha. Our grand leader has become a comedian! That's MY shtick!" exclaimed Gauntlet as he stood.

"Hey."

Gauntlet looked to his right at Savior, who was offering him a hand. "You did pretty good." And he meant it, as much he hated to admit it.

Robert stared at the hand. "There's not a buzzer there I take it?"

"No."

"Well okay." Robert shook Noel's hand, in a sort of truce. It definitely wouldn't last long – the two were just too different to stay buddy-buddy long – but at least some progress had been made.

And of course, Murphy's Law kicked in again when Gauntlet stepped forward and slipped on some of the hydraulic fluid. "WAAA!"

**SMASH!**

Savior sweatdropped as he ended on the floor beside Gauntlet. _Of course, something HAD to happen…I REALLY wish Raven hurried up with that counter-spell…_

The Slade robot suddenly started jerking. Gauntlet paled as Savior tentatively said, "Uh…Robin? The robot's still moving."

**"How? It's not generating any electrical signal! There's no power whatsoever!" **

The answer became clear as the robot's chest burst open and out came a little fleshy blob.

"AAAAAH! _ALIEN!_" shrieked Gauntlet as he jumped onto Noel (much to the latter's displeasure).

However, the blob immediately morphed into…a mini-Robin. Shrimpy legs, big head, buck teeth, and a little 'L' patch on his left pectoral. "Oops. I goofed the landing again."

Robert stared at the little guy confusedly. "Uh…since when did Robin get a Mini-Me?"

"New person! YAAAY I CAN DO ANOTHER INTRODUCTION! All the way from another dimension, the greatest fan of the Teen Titans and Robin's ultimate buddy…" A spotlight shined around the Mini-Robin as he proclaimed, "**_EKARD MIT!_**" He then floated up to Robert's face (HOLY CRAP HIS RIGHT HAND'S INDEX FINGER WAS HUGE), happily saying, "But you can call me Larry!"

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

**_Oops _**

xxxx

Author's Notes: I just HAD to keep writing. 18 pages in less than two days! But in any case…LARRY THE TITAN!

Although the Legendverse timeline says the second season ended before Wings ends, let's just say that Gauntlet and Terra were on their mission to Ubertron when Larry showed up (hence Gauntlet's confusion). And seeing as how this Robin is Tim Drake, Larry is Ekard Mit instead of Nosyarg Kcid.

Also, any humor at Prisionero and Jedi-And's expense was all in good humor. Please don't kill me…uh… (FLEES)

See you soon, and please review!


	5. Oops

Standard Disclaimer: Hi-ho disclaimer, AWAAAAY! (rides away from the lawsuits)

Author's Notes: Yeah, so it's not disclaiming anything…but who cares? You know the drill. In any case, look for funny reality altering in this chapter…along with a rather deadly threat.

Begin!

xxxx

_**Oops**_

xxxx

The same drone continued to hover outside Titans Tower, its lone mechanical eye analyzing the miniature Robin that was now inside the living room, chatting it up with an utterly confused Terra.

And the same one who was watching the transmitted images folded his hands. "How interesting…that little boy from before. It's been a long time since I've seen him." He recalled Ekard Mit's world…and he recalled the hyperactive child's incredible reality-altering powers.

The pieces began to fall into place.

The spell binding Noel Collins and Robert Candide together.

The magical aura that was slowly merging the two together.

The Gauntlet, magical artifact of the Old Ones.

And now…Ekard Mit's arrival.

The figure smiled. Although he was not a practitioner of magic, he knew well enough about it. After all, he did his research thoroughly; he couldn't be caught off guard when dealing with a foe who used magic. Especially when he fought one – the Titan known as Raven – on a constant basis. And when it came down to it, he could conjure up arcane works if he wanted (after all, he HAD summoned the demon known as Fire).

And so Slade Wilson – better known as Deathstroke the Terminator – smiled. "This little opportunity needs pursuing." After all…it was too good to pass up.

xxxx

"And so this icky biker was defeated by Robin and I got my power back and my magic finger rose out of the ground like a statue and turned everything back to normal and I fixed Robin's arm but I accidentally zapped him to nowhere, but it was all okay because Robin and I are BUDDIES!"

Tara blinked as she stared at the hyperactive midget. "Uh…wha? Who are you again?"

"Don't worry Terra," interrupted Beast Boy as he popped out from behind the geokinetic. "Larry's cool!"

"YAY! I'M COOL!" cheered Larry as he started popping in and out of the couch.

Cyborg grumbled as the little reality manipulator suddenly manifested a jetpack. "Well this is just peachy." Rocket smoke filled the whole room until Cyborg created a fan to blow it all away. "Mind keeping the reality alteration to a minimum? I'd like to not have a repeat of what happened last time."

Larry saluted the tall cyborg. "No problem sir!"

Sitting on the (miraculously) undestroyed couch, Savior was rubbing his temples. "Wonderful. The return of the spastic fanboy."

"How come you don't like Larry?" asked Gauntlet.

"Because he has enough power to rip apart a planet and doesn't have the control for it."

"Kind of like Pangloss, except hyperactive instead of lazy?"

"Correct," replied Savior.

Robin shot Savior a look. "Don't start Noel." He wasn't going to bother with codenames around Larry; after all, the little tyke watched them nearly 24/7 (or however time worked in his dimension). Names were something Ekard Mit knew by heart. "He may be hyperactive, but he has a good heart."

"And don't forget what the road to Dell is paved with." Noel screamed. "OH COME ON! I WAS DESCRIBING A PLACE!"

"Spells aren't picky," commented Raven. "And Larry DOES have control. His powers only went haywire after Robin accidentally broke his finger."

Robert commented, "Apparently, this whole breaking of reality affected only Jump City, because I didn't see anything weird while I was in Uberton with Terra."

"You live in UBERTON Rob," joked Victor. "You wouldn't be able to tell IF something went haywire."

"Point." He then turned to Savior. "SO. Larry OBVIOUSLY did something to tick you off. What was it?"

Savior grumbled, "Not telling."

"He turned the Shimmer into cherry-flavored licorice," answered Beast Boy.

"**GAR!"**

Gauntlet gaped. "_NO WAY._" The blonde-haired male immediately began snickering. "Man…watch out villains! Beware Savior and his power, the Twizzler!"

"Shut up," growled Noel.

"I would've SO paid to see that," remarked Gauntlet as the thought of Savior attacking with CANDY was just too hilarious. "Can you do it again?"

Savior formed a Shimmer blade and held it right in front of Gauntlet's face. "I don't think so you idiotic-"

"OKAY!" exclaimed Larry as his magic finger zapped the Shimmer with a bolt of whiteness. The white energy immediately transformed into red licorice.

"…COOL!" Gauntlet bit down on the 'Twizzler' blade.

"**_OOOOOOOOOOOW!"_** howled Savior as he collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Apparently, the 'Twizzler' caused just as much pain as the Shimmer did when it was cut (or bitten, in this case).

"Mmm, cherry flavor," remarked Gauntlet.

**SLAP!**

"GAH!" gagged Gauntlet as he spot out the Twizzler piece he had bitten off. Savior frantically grabbed it and merged it with the rest of the Twizzler. "DON'T do that again! I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time Larry did this!"

xxxx

Flashback.

After Johnny Rancid was defeated.

Shortly before Larry's departure.

Kory fidgeted nervously as Noel walked into the women's restroom, his expression one of utter displeasure. "I said that I was sorry. I did not mean to eat all of the Shimmer…but it was so yummy! It was truly pleasing!"

Raven commented, "At the very least, be thankful the Shimmer is capable of surviving digestion. Even with nine Tamaranean stomachs."

The alien feebly said, "I will say it was rather hard to…'poop', as the saying goes?"

Raven sweatdropped.

Then she sweatdropped again as the voice of her lover echoed out of the restroom. "**AAAGH!** Good _LORD_ Kory! This is just…**EECH!** You are FORBIDDEN from eating the Shimmer ever again!"

Even Raven couldn't help but snicker at the absurdity of the statement. Especially seeing that Noel said it. "Just make sure you wash your hands. Use soap."

xxxx

"And that boys and girls is our designated amount of potty humor for this story!"

CRASH!

"ACK! Beast Boy!" screamed Tara as she started digging Gar out of the ruins of the fourth wall.

Vic glared at Gauntlet. "Nice going." The blonde teen shrugged.

Larry clapped. "YAY! The fourth wall! It broke! Let me fix it!" His magic finger resurrected the fourth wall…as a massive mouth that started eating Beast Boy. "Oops."

Savior grumbled. _Ugh…_ "All humor aside, I DON'T want to relive that experience Gauntlet."

"You're just upset because your powers were utter crap!" cracked Robert.

Noel groaned at the pun. "**WHATEVER.** Larry, FIX THE SHIMMER."

The fourth wall finally fixed (and Beast Boy now knowing how animals felt when eaten), Larry floated over to Savior and Gauntlet. "Okay! Don't worry, I'll get it!"

ZAP!

The Shimmer was now a miniaturized version of a member of Solenoglypha Viperidae. AKA, a viper.

"Oops."

The 'Slither' hissed and lunged at Savior's face.

"**LARRY!"**

"I'll fix it!"

ZAP!

Spaghetti.

"Nope," muttered Larry.

ZAP!

Seaweed.

"Nope."

ZAP!

Liquid metal.

"Nope."

ZAP!

Ants. "AAAAGH!"

"Nope."

ZAP!

Fire ants. **"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"**

"Nope."

ZAP!

The Shimmer. "YAY! I fixed it!"

"My spinal cord has ant bites…" winced Noel, his body racked with pain.

"Awww, does the baby need a kissy-wissy from his mommy to make it all feel better?" mocked Gauntlet. Then he frowned. "Oh wait, she's dead. That doesn't work…hmm…can I substitute Raven in there instead? Better yet, can she just kiss me?"

"_**NOT HELPING."**_

"ENOUGH!" yelled Robin, trying to get a lid on the situation. "Okay Larry…now, why exactly are you here?"

"To help!" He pointed at Robert and Noel's conjoined hands. "I can fix it! My magic finger can fix anything! Watch!" It glowed.

"**STOP!"**

Everyone turned to Raven. "Remember when reality broke? I declined healing Larry's finger because my magic could not mix with his reality-altering powers. Does 'nullify all existence' ring a bell? Same thing applies here!" She regained her composure with a deep breath. "In any case, I'm almost done creating a spell to counter this one. I should be done in less than half an hour. 10 minutes at the very least." She teleported back into her room.

Larry moped. "Aww…I wanted to help."

"It is okay, little doppleganger of Robin!" reassured Starfire with a smile. "You can still do the 'hanging out' with us! Come, let us play with Silkie!"

"YAY!"

As Starfire and Larry giggled off, everyone just looked at each other. "Well…I suppose that's it," said Robin with a shrug.

"Then it's time to commence the butt-kicking! BB, you wanna race?" challenged Victor as he dropped onto the couch and turned on the Gamestation.

"Oh no you don't!" retorted Garfield as he leapt onto the couch – gorilla mode – and roared as he picked up the controller.

Terra shrugged. "Eh, I'm hungry." She started rummaging through the fridge, feeling a strange hankering for licorice.

At the same time, Robin noticed Gauntlet fidgeting. "Uh…are you okay?"

"I've gotta go."

Tim sweatdroped. Noel paled. "Oh no. No. NO. **NO NO NO.** I absolutely _DRAW THE LINE_ at that."

"But it's number two!"

"Hold it!"

"I can't!"

"Go in your pants!"

Robert did a double take. "WHAT? Are you out of your mind?" Then he frowned. "Wait…don't YOU have to go?"

"I'm holding it."

"…why?"

"Do you REALLY think I want to go while you're in the bathroom with me?"

Gauntlet shuddered as he yelped. "Well I'M going!" Savior could only protest (loudly) as he was dragged away.

Robin sighed. _I wonder how Larry's doing?_

xxxx

"YAY! I'm a cowboy!" cheered Larry as he rode the mutant larva known as Silky.

And Starfire continued to clap with glee.

xxxx

Savior had thought of a rather inventive solution to make the trip to the restroom a bit more bearable: a Shimmer wall between himself and Gauntlet (with their merged hands on Noel's side of the Shimmer barrier, of course).

As Gauntlet did his business, Savior tapped his foot impatiently. "Can we hurry up?"

"You can't rush ART."

"…I know that you can NEVER resist using a clichéd phrase, but that doesn't even fit."

"That's what the square was told when it didn't fit into the circle. Lousy preschool toys."

Noel could only sweatdrop. He was SO grateful that Raven was almost finished with the magical incantation that would fix this predicament. "I just hope Larry doesn't do anything stupid."

"Oh come on, he seems like an okay guy!"

"He breaks the laws of physics whenever he uses that magic finger of his. Do I even need to explain WHY?" asked Noel incredulously.

On the other side of the Shimmer barrier, Robert scoffed. "My great great uncle Jefferson Candide practically WROTE the laws of physics. After all, he came up with the theory of relativity!"

xxxx

1905.

A patent office in Bern, Germany.

A man looking remarkably like Robert walked up to the office desk and handed a man with fuzzy white hair and mustache a set of papers. "I'd like to patent this. I call it 'Candide's _Special Theory of Relativity_'!"

Albert Einstein glanced at the papers from behind the partition that separated him from any visitors. "Hmm…say, what is this smudge right here?"

"Where?" asked Jefferson as he took a closer look.

**WHAM! WHAM WHAM WHAM!**

Einstein slammed the dividing glass door into Jefferson's neck repeatedly before stashing the papers away.

xxxx

"They never found ol' Jeff's body. Einstein made TRILLIONS off of his theory!" angrily exclaimed Gauntlet.

Savior's eyebrow twitched. "The Theory of Relativity didn't make Einstein his generation's Bill Gates. And you got that off of Family Guy."

"Seth McFarlane consulted me for that episode. And since when do YOU watch Family Guy?"

The white-haired teen growled angrily. _Idiotic son of a finch._

"I am not a bird!"

"**_GRAH!'_** screamed Noel Collins. "Just hurry up!"

Another two minutes passed.

"You know Noel, I was quite surprised when I saw the 'stuff' you do with Raven. I mean, I know you've both gotten intimate before…but Mr. Stick Up His Butt getting rowdy? Whoda thunk it?"

"You know, I'm not against people having fun," remarked Savior.

Gauntlet dramatically roared, "I OBJECT! The mountain of evidence against you says otherwise!"

Noel wasn't amused. "Look. I may act like an utter bull at times. Sure, you may snicker whenever I say 'DON'T PRESS THAT BUTTON!' But you know what? This life we live in isn't all fun and games! I mean, look at the situation we're in!" He tapped their merged hands. "Because you had to go goofing off with Raven's spell books, we're stuck together and have become the subject of a media firestorm! They're already writing STORIES about us, and it's all because you don't KNOW any better!"

"Well THAT'S not true! I DO know better!" protested Gauntlet. "I always do my chores! I wash the dishes, vacuum the carpet, clean the windows, do my homework, yadda yadda yadda…"

Noel nearly snarled. "**THAT'S NOT THE POINT.**" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "What I'm saying is…you don't take this life seriously enough. To be honest, I think the same thing of a few other Titans, but I ESPECIALLY apply that line of thought to you. You act as if this is all a game. **_IT'S NOT_**. Lives are at stake. The media watches us like hawks. Our actions beget SERIOUS consequences. That's why that, for all the irresponsibility you – and others, but ESPECIALLY you – show, someone has to pick up the messes you leave behind. Namely, me. Do you think I LIKE being portrayed as the 'bad guy'? You think I'd want to be serious all the time? Of course not. But I have to. SOMEONE has to make sure we don't stray off the narrow path of heroism. We have too much power to be reckless like regular teens." Noel took another deep breath. "Get my point? You act more like a teenager and not a hero. One day, that's going to cost LIVES. Starting acting like a hero."

On the other side, Robert Candide blinked out of surprise. He hadn't expected a diabtribe like that from NOEL of all people. _Did he just offer me advice?_

"Yes, and if you're smart, you'll take it to heart."

"…hmm." Gauntlet reached for the toilet paper. "Interesting lecture…but basically, I got the idea that you'd want to live in MY shoes. A day in my life…but that'd mean I'd have to live in YOUR shoes for a day, so no deal!"

…_why do I even bother?_

Flushing.

"And I am done!" exclaimed Gauntlet.

_About time_, thought Savior with a frown as he glanced at their merged hands…and blinked. _What the…?_

The two hands were now starting to meld even more completely. The palms themselves had conjoined together at the skin, fully bridging him together. To Noel's shock, he couldn't flex his left hand's fingers anymore, because they were slowly fusing with Gauntlet's.

"…come on Gauntlet. We need to be ready for when Raven finishes the spell." _I don't want it to spread any further._

xxxx

The living room.

Everyone had gathered in there: Robin, Larry, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Terra, Savior, Gauntlet, and Raven.

Raven stood near the large windows; sitting on the ground two feet in front of her was a paper mat with runes inscribed upon it with black ink. Sitting in the middle of the paper were medicinal herbs and ruby shards, complete with droplets of Noel and Robert's blood.

Standing next to the wall forty feet away were Savior and Gauntlet, their backs against the wall.

Kory worriedly asked, "Friend Raven, this will cure their 'hand in hand' sickness?"

"I…suppose you could call it that," remarked Raven as she made sure she had put the proper amount of herbs upon the paper. "After studying numerous spells similar to the one Robert cast, I managed to come up with a counter-spell that should split your bodies back to their normal selves. It's a different type of incantation than what I'm used to…but it won't be difficult."

Gauntlet smacked his head. "Raven Raven Raven…don't you know that expressing doubt about something you're about to do and yet saying it won't be difficult ALWAYS means it'll fail?"

"You're just making that up," sarcastically said Cyborg.

"Superhero Guidebook, page 44."

Cyborg facefaulted, resulting in applause from Larry. "YAY! It's my favorite visual gag!"

Raven frowned at Larry before turning her attention to Savior and Gauntlet. "Now just hold still you two; I don't want anything going wrong. It'll be over in a few moments." She held her hands out to the side as she began chanting. "Dellepsid eb tsap fo skcigam! Nigiro eht ot nruter, seidob eht fo gnittilps! Dnob gnidne!" Raven's magical incantations sounded far more fluid than Gauntlet's from only yesterday (it had felt much longer to Savior). Then she shifted hands forward, palms aimed at the two. A black aura surrounded the paper and the ingredients on it. "Babylon melrek rochior…Assyra maledor canviar…" The paper – and everything on it – ignited, fusing with the aura to form a blue energy that surrounded Raven's hands. Her eyes glowed white as she prepared to fire the spell at the two. "**AZARATH…**"

_**CRASH!**_

Everyone turned to face the figure that came bursting through the window behind Raven. The humanoid stood up…and upon the sight of the black-and-orange mask, everyone's eyes narrowed.

"Slade," hissed Robin.

"Good day Titans," said Slade, his lone left eye narrowing. "And I've told you before that you no longer may call me that."

Larry shrieked at the sight of the mercenary. "BAD MAN! BAD MAN!"

Robert impulsively activated the Gauntlet, intent on fighting Deathstroke (who oddly seemed to smile at the sight; perhaps he wanted to pick a fight?). Savior, on the other hand, roared, **_"WAIT GAUNTLET! LET RAVEN FINISH!"_**

Raven immediately returned to the task at hand. **_"METRION…"_**

Slade moved like lightning, clutching Raven's arms and aiming them as she spoke the final word, unable to stop.

"…_**ZINTHOS!"**_

A blue bolt of power lashed out from Raven's hands, heading to its new target: Larry.

"WAH!" screamed Larry as the blue bolt of magical energy hit him, and he started convulsing as his magic finger twitched uncontrollably.

Starfire gasped. "Friend Larry!"

Beast Boy glared at Slade hatefully. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing," casually remarked the cold assassin. "The young boy is not being killed…but his powers now need a larger outlet, thanks to the addition of Raven's magic. And there is only one suitable host for the massive power: the artifact known as the Gauntlet."

Larry screamed as he fell to the ground, his magic finger shooting a pure white spear of power…and to the shock of every Titan, it zoomed straight towards the Gauntlet.

Oddly enough, upon contact with the Gauntlet, the artifact began glowing a bright gold…and the space where Noel and Robert's hands joined became a white void, sucking the two in.

Savior paled at the sight. "WHAT THE **_HULK_** IS GOING ON?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?" yelled Gauntlet, their bodies now inexplicably being drawn towards the whiteness.

Robin whipped out his bo staff. "Answers Slade!" Obviously, he didn't care about Slade's demand to call him by his 'codename' of Deathstroke the Terminator.

"Gladly," replied Slade, his dark eye indicating pleasure in what he was about to unveil. "Remember our little 'adventure' some time ago? Back before Robert Candide and Tara Markov joined your little team? I'm referring, of course, to where I created the Chronoton Destabilizer."

The Titans frowned. They remembered that incident VERY well; Slade – creating a machine similar to the Chronoton Detonator – had flung the Titans into alternate timelines of the same world, each one more exotic, deadly, or wondrous than the last. Unfortunately, due to Savior's meddling, Slade had wound up flung into various timelines himself. It was only with Batman's help that Savior managed to pull everyone back to their timeline. "And that has to deal with this HOW?" demanded Cyborg.

"It is how I encountered the young fellow known as Ekard Mit…or as you call him, 'Larry the Titan'," answered Slade, gesturing towards the frightened child (it obviously explained Larry's fear; he had seen one of the Titan's deadliest enemies IN PERSON). "When I was thrown into his world, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a great deal of Earth's populace had reality-altering powers similar to his own. Such power was of great interest to me…so I read all I could on the subject during my short time there. Unfortunately, before I could find a way to utilize their ability to manipulate reality myself, I was torn away to another timeline…but it turns out that what I learned there actually has a use."

Raven could barely pry her eyes away from a screaming Noel and Robert, their bodies slowly merging together (now both up to their shoulders). _No…Larry's powers mixed with my spell! It's actually speeding up the process!_ "What do you mean?" she barely managed to get that out without sounding scared.

Slade's eye narrowed. "Imagine my surprise when I learned that these powers were bred into the human race by another civilization…as an experiment, you could say. This civilization…well, you know them as the Old Ones." The shocked look on the face of the Titans' made him smile. "Yes…according to historical documents, the first few generations of reality-manipulators had to use magical technology from the Old Ones to control their tremendous abilities. Magical technology similar to Robert's Gauntlet, which is why young Ekard Mit's power was drawn to it." The mercenary sighed out of remembrance of Old One machinery. "A fusion of powerful magic and technological mastery…only artifacts such as those could harness the immense reality-altering powers effectively. Naturally, the first humans to use these powers had to be trained mentally for years to handle them…" He grinned maliciously as he stared at Savior and Gauntlet, their bodies now disappearing into a single form. "…of course, I doubt they have the mental capacity for such power."

Tim Drake scowled hatefully at the one who once called him 'apprentice'. "What's the point Deathstroke?"

The assassin chuckled. "Quite simple Robin…or should I say, 'Tim'. I've been monitoring you all for some time…and when this new 'development' arose, I began watching intently. When Ekard Mit arrived little more than an hour ago, I knew I had to act. Such an opportunity, slim as it was, was too good to pass up."

"What opportunity?" asked Cyborg.

Slade smiled. "The opportunity to effectively annihilate my opponents. I know a great deal about magic Titans…and this spell that Raven cast will have two outcomes now. One: the two will split apart as intended…but the backlash of power from both her magic AND Ekard Mit's reality-altering powers will kill them. Or two: they merge into one being with magical powers, reality-manipulation abilities, a mutated nervous system, a magical artifact, and the combined mentality of two teenagers…and it looks like it will be the latter, which is fortunate."

Raven growled. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it: the combined mental capacity of two teenagers in command of power great enough to wipe out the universe…I doubt their feeble minds could even handle the strain of such power." He smirked behind his mask. "Then again, that's what I was hoping for…and with no conscious mind to control such power, it all comes down to animalistic instinct, which has no regards for friend or foe…and with so much power coursing through their veins, they'll want to use it." He glanced at the single humanoid of white. "Of course, perhaps I should call them a 'he' now."

Robin's eyes narrowed; so that had been Slade's plan: to manipulate Raven's spell to merge Savior and Gauntlet together, complete with Larry's powers…and in the aftermath, have a barely-in-control Savior/Gauntlet destroy their own teammates. "It won't happen Slade…and you're not getting away!" He charged. **_"HRAAAA!"_**

Deathstroke smiled as a familiar switch slid into his palm. "Sorry, but I must depart." A click of the button…and in a white flash, he was gone. Robin grimaced. He got away!

Suddenly, the humanoid fusion of Savior and Gauntlet stopped glowing…and everyone stared.

He stood roughly at six feet…but his appearance made him seem taller. His entire body was covered by shimmering golden armor from the neck down, segmented into very slim plates to allow for maximum movement. A white breastplate protected his chest, and a giant red ruby was implanted in it. The armor around his arms looked exactly like the Gauntlet – one for each arm – but with the added addition of spiky red fins around the forearms and shoulder blades. The face itself was hardened like Savior's…but his spiky white hair was standing straight backwards at a diagonal (think Vegeta in DBGT), and it was complete with blonde streaks. His crystal blue eyes stared quietly at the Titans. He said nothing.

Raven calmly – and fearfully – asked, "Noel? Robert? Are you in there?"

The figure – his voice a fusion of Noel's and Robert's – spoke painfully. "So much power…so much..." Slade had apparently underestimated the combined willpower of the two Titans…but their control was meager at best (actually, it was mostly nonexistent). And it was slipping away by the second."…can't hold it in..." His face twinged with agony...and then it was replaced by ahardened look, colder than stone.Whatever remained of Savior and Gauntlet was now buried underneath the new psyche that commanded their new body. A psyche spawned from basic instinct and the realization that it had power. And lots of it. "So much power...enough to destroy everything...like an Oblivion...and that's we are. It's what I am." He glared at the Titans. "I have too much power...and if I don't use it, it'll consume me. Please understand."

Oblivion suddenly dove through a window, shattering it as he fell to the ground below. Before anyone could shout or pursue him, the fused Titan pointed his right hand at Titans Tower.

Five Shimmer strands erupted from tiny slits in the armor, except they were colored a brilliant gold. The five strands lashed at the midsection of the Tower.

The one strike separated the molecular bindings of countless particles…and an entire section of the Tower collapsed into small, sand-like grains. Result: the upper half of Titans Tower collapsed in on itself, kicking up a cloud of dust that would have made any innocent bystanders think of the World Trade Center.

Oblivion looked on as his enhanced nervous system – now known as the Glimmer – retracted, even though he continued to fall. Then, without even thinking, his hands crackled with white energy…and the ground beneath him morphed into a giant trampoline.

The fused warrior bounced off harmlessly and landed on the ground feet-first. His eyes gazed at Jump City on the other side of the bay…and they narrowed. _Destroy…destroy…_

The two souls within him cried out for Oblivion to stop.

But Oblivion could not and would not listen. He had too much power to control…and in his own eyes, he thought that the destruction he was about to cause was better than holding all of the tremendous energy within until he burst.

Then, with a terrible roar that echoed through the sky, he charged across the bay – the water solidifying under his feet – towards the city.

The upcoming fight would result in a battle as great as the Final Night.

xxxx

Several miles outside of Jump City, atop a mountain…we see a log cabin. It seems normal at first glance: homely, quaint, and small.

Step inside, you'd think the same thing.

However…press a hidden switch…and the fireplace becomes an elevator…which leads down into the mountain…into a lair filled with rotating gears, whirling cogs and creaking sprockets. Monitors lined the walls, and a number of equipment littered the massive room.

One such piece of equipment looked like a giant ring. It was built upon a raised platform, and its outer rim was lined with a number of blue diodes. Diodes that started flashing.

A bright light came into being, and ceased to exist within a second.

Slade Wilson stood within the ring, calmly walking down. "Foolish Robin…was he really so surprised that someone who could obtain a Chronoton Destabilizer would be unable to find something as relatively simple as teleportation technology?" It was a rather limited teleportation device; whenever Slade pressed the hidden switch in his arm, he would teleport back to his new base…and ONLY his new base. Nevertheless, it was a useful precaution, in case he ever bit off more than he could chew.

However, he had come home…to merely catch the show.

He sat down in his self-styled throne, gazing at the monitors as they showed different images of Jump City and Titans Tower. The fusion of Savior and Gauntlet – dubbed Oblivion – was dashing toward the city at high speed.

Slade smiled wickedly. "Let it begin."

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

_**Oblivion**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: Now to begin the big final battle in which lots of property damage occurs and also features a big twist or two!

See you soon, and please review!

EDIT: A quick fix and a dialogue change with Oblivion.


	6. Oblivion

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own- (vanishes in a rift)

Author's Notes: Oh my. Oblivion's even affecting the pre-story space. o.o

Anyhow, time to begin the big battle scene! Readers who know Legend Maker are probably going to love me for the cameo in the first scene of some 'special' characters. :D

Begin!

xxxx

_**Oblivion**_

xxxx

We close in on a mountain just on the border of Jump City. If one looks carefully, they can see the abandoned ruins of Professor Chang's lab further down the mountainside. But we're not looking at that.

We're looking at the two men on top of the mountain.

"I really really REALLY hate my life," grumbled the first man, his brown hair shortly-cropped. His outfit looked rather casual – blue jeans, black sneakers, and a red T-shirt – but then again, he hadn't really had the time to change into his green uniform. On his wrist was a rather nifty-looking watch that looked like a cooler-looking design reject from the movie Clockstoppers. His green eyes were filled with exasperation, irritation, and frustration (or a combination of all three, if you like).

"You always say that," muttered the slightly shorter man next to him. With his brown cloak-and-hood, tan robes, and tan pants, he looked exactly like a Jedi (that, and the lightsaber clipped to his belt helped). His hood was up, so his hair (which was swept-back and tied into a ponytail, FYI) was hidden. However, his face was a tad younger-looking than the other's, and there was a more childish aspect to it (probably because the other man was so angry all the time).

You've probably guessed who they are.

And if you guessed Anakin and Obi-Wan, you're wrong! It's…PHIL AND RALPH!

That's right. Phil and Ralph of _Physics Police_ fame (if you're reading this Bobcat, please don't kill me). As to why they're here? Well…

"This is just great," grumbled Phil. "I finally get a leave from duty, and I FINALLY get to go on a date with Kiyone, and _JUST_ when we're about to hit third base…O'Connor calls." He then began mocking the voice of his boss. "'Oh no, this mission won't be long! Just get a little dimension hopper back to his own place and fine him for bending the rules of reality!'" Phil snorted. "Little does he know that the MOMENT I arrive, two teenage superheroes merge together and suddenly have enough power to rip a planet to shreds AND completely violate the laws of physics with a sharp, pointy stick."

Ralph winced. "Did you have to use 'violate' and 'sharp, pointy stick' in the same sentence?"

The Physics Policeman grumbled as he rubbed his aching neck. "Whatever. I'm getting freaking tired of being kicked around. You know what? Just to spite O'Connor, I'm not going to help out. I'll let this whole incident resolve itself."

_**That wouldn't be a good idea Squire.**_

_Oh shut up Arthur!_

Ralph arched an eyebrow as Phil hovered into the air. "And…you're really not going to help?"

Green eyes glared at the former janitor. "Before my leave, I had to chase Erik through HQ. AGAIN. I had to fight him. AGAIN. I'm not in the mood to fight with a super-powered being who can turn pillows into nuclear missiles." Phil then ascended higher into the air. "Well, since we're in Universe DC-LM, we might as well make a quick stop in Metropolis. I'm hungry for some McDonald's."

"Phil, there's about five million McDonald's in HQ."

"But THEY don't have the Superburger. Specialty of Metropolis."

"Eh, I suppose." Ralph calmly pulled a small capsule, pressed a button, and threw it onto the ground. It 'BAMFed' into a small puff of smoke, which faded to reveal an A-Wing. "You KNOW you're going to get in trouble for this."

"Don't care. Besides, this universe's denizens can fix their own problems quite well." He then took off.

_Can I get a Happy Meal?_

_No Io._

_Please?_

_No._

_**Oh come now Squire, why won't thou let the girl have a simple trinket?**_

_I am NOT walking into a McDonald's and ordering a Happy Meal!_

_Egotistical much?_

_Io. Shut it._

_**Spleen?**_

_No, McDonald's does NOT serve spleens!_

_**I still say thou should turn around and face this new foe with valor and courage befitting a king!** _

DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS BODY AROUND!

**That's what I want thee to do.**

"GAAAAAH!' roared Phil as he and Ralph took off to the north.

And so they left Jump City to its fate…

xxxx

Titans Tower…well, what's left of it anyway.

A gigantic pile of rock, metal, glass, and dust is all that remained of it. Oblivion's single attack had brought the Tower to its knees. Just like the Lord's first strike on the Final Night.

However, just like on the Final Night…the Titans survived.

Rocks levitated from the ruin, revealing a black dome of energy. It vanished, revealing Terra moving more of the rocks away from them, as well as the other Titans.

Cyborg grimaced. "Well this is just lovely."

The Teen Wonder growled as he removed rubble his hair with one hand. "Okay…what exactly happened back there?"

"Exactly what it looked like," replied Raven, her violet eyes fixed into a remorseless stare. Yet beneath those eyes, her mind was racing for answers to their newest dilemma. "Robert and Noel have merged together to form a new being…a being with powers imbued from my magic, the Old Ones' technology, and Larry's reality-bending abilities. Not the best combination."

"Dude…" moaned Beast Boy as he shook the dust off of his body (momentarily turning into a dog to do so). "How many times is the Tower going to be destroyed? All my stuff's gone again!"

Ekard Mit gulped. "Oops…I messed up again, didn't I?" fearfully asked Larry.

"No, friend Larry!" exclaimed Starfire with a soothing tone. "You did not make an 'oops'. This is all Slade's 'oops'!"

"Except Slade did it on purpose," growled Robin, his hatred for the mercenary coming up once again. It was ALWAYS Slade…ALWAYS him. There might have been godlike threats in the form of the Lord or Whim…there might have been incredibly powerful metahumans such as Asphyxiation or Godsend…but when it came right down to it, the one who would always, always, ALWAYS cause the most damage to the Titans…was Slade Wilson…Deathstroke the Terminator. "Okay Titans, we need to focus now. Savior and Gauntlet have combined into a new being."

Terra asked, "Didn't he call himself 'Oblivion'?"

Cyborg snorted. "Fitting name."

**_BOOM!_**

Everyone gazed at the city; an explosion had just consumed a building (a condemned one, naturally. The Superhero Guidebook declares that the first target of supervillains is ALWAYS an abandoned building. Usually a hotel.). Oddly enough, the building – upon exploding – had turned into blue Kool-Aid.

Raven sweatdropped. "He's already putting his reality-altering powers to work. Intentionally or unintentionally is anyone's guess."

"Let's hope it's the latter," muttered Robin. Larry's powers didn't bother him…precisely because of Larry. He was an innocent. But this 'Oblivion'…he had the minds of two Titans. Of particular worry was Noel…especially his tactical side. He'd rather not have that part of Noel's persona manifest in Oblivion (after all, why fight an enemy when you could simply manipulate the enemy's body and turn him into taffy?).

"Just to let you all know," spoke Raven, her voice slightly morose. "I still felt part of Noel and Robert inside Oblivion before he leapt away…but it seemed as if they were being slowly buried beneath that body's new psyche."

Beast Boy blinked. "Uh…and?"

Raven glared. "If we're going to try and rescue our friends, we need to be quick about it."

"Raven's right," said Robin, his body tensing; a battle was nearing, and he was as ready as ever for it. "Our first priority is to minimize damage to the city. Raven, Terra, Beast Boy, evacuate as many people as you can. Cyborg, Starfire, with me. We're going after Oblivion."

"What about me?" asked Ekard Mit with bashful eyes.

Robin knelt down beside his doppleganger, smiling warmly. "You just wait here and cheer us on."

Larry smiled. "I can do that. YAY! Go Robin, go Robin, go Robin, GO! Titans for the win! **WAHA!**"

Raven flew off, leading Beast Boy (as an eagle) and Terra (on a rock) towards downtown Jump City. Starfire, carrying Robin and Cyborg with one hand each, flew off in the direction Oblivion had gone.

xxxx

Oblivion stood atop a building, his golden armor shimmering in the sunlight. It wasn't even noon yet…but many people had gone out for their lunch break. Which meant lots of people on the streets. Which meant lots of screaming when Oblivion used a Glimmer hammer to flatten a condemned apartment building like a pancake.

The fused warrior calmly jumped down from atop the building, using several Glimmer strands to slow his fall. The golden lines formed long legs that bent to ease his momentum. When he stepped onto the road, the impact was as meek as a kitten.

"_**OBLIVION!"**_

The teenage fusion gazed skyward. Starfire was in the air, holding Robin and Cyborg…and then she promptly threw the latter at him. The cybernetic teen brought his foot forward. "Try this on for size!"

_BAM!_

Oblivion was sent skidding backward by the collision; Cyborg's metal foot might have left an imprint in his chest, had the shield of the Gauntlet not been in place. As it was…it only made him irritated. "Leave me be."

"No can do Oblivion," said Robin as he was set down by Cyborg. "You're causing a lot of damage…and we're going to stop you."

The fusion scowled. "You can try."

"Fine by me!" whooped Cyborg as he unleashed his Sonic Cannon. The blue stream rocketed toward Oblivion, who promptly formed a large Glimmer barrier in front of him. The sonic blast wasn't breaking through. But before Cyborg could increase the cannon's power, a Glimmer boxing glove erupted from the barrier and smashed into his face. "DWAH!" yelped Victor Stone as he was sent backwards by about fifty yards.

Oblivion retracted the barrier-

**_CHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOM!_**

Just as five exploding discs impacted the ground around him, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt. Almost immediately, a torrent of Starbolts tore into his position, kicking up remnants of the now-ruined road.

Robin yelled, "Don't let up Starfire!"

"I do not want to kill our friends Robin!"

"Trust me Star, keep going!" _If Oblivion's as strong as I think he is…this won't even scratch him._

As if answering his prediction, a Glimmer strand erupted from the cloud and wrapped around Starfire, who could only shriek as she was slung down into the road at high speed, resulting in an even bigger cloud of rock and powder. Oblivion calmly walked out of the dirty haze…and like Robin predicted, there was nary a scratch.

Oblivion glared at Robin. "I don't want to hurt you."

Robin arched an eyebrow, although he quickly recovered. "You're destroying the city."

"I have no choice."

"Yes you do."

"I have too much power. You expect a body like this to hold it all in?"

"Excuses. You're causing senseless destruction, and I WILL stop you." Robin whipped out his bo staff.

Oblivion scowled. The consciousness that now commanded the fused body of Savior and Gauntlet was starting to get fed up. He had a new psyche; although knowledgeable in how to handle the power within him, he had the emotional maturity of an infant…for although he was spawned from both Noel and Robert, the sheer power had utterly overwhelmed all higher thought processes…leaving only instinct and the rawest forms of emotion.

And when one who operates on gut instinct gets angry…there is no controlling it.

"**SO BE IT."**

Oblivion roared as multiple Glimmer strands tore into the ground, kicking up car-sized sections of pavement. However, they suddenly contorted into the form of basic quadrupeds…and they spawned mouths.

Robin blanched; Oblivion had just turn pavement into – essentially – Dobermans. _Okay, this is bad._

The Rock Hounds snarled and howled as they leapt at the Teen Wonder. Robin dove under the first, bringing his armored boots up into the next one. It shattered into tiny pieces, but the others were immediately upon him. He quickly swung his bo staff around in a circle, smashing several of the Rock Hounds. One paw grazed his side (thank goodness for armored clothing), but it didn't tear. The one responsible was immediately smashed. Almost immediately, a Rock Hound rammed its head into his back, sending him forward towards another. This beast sank its teeth into his shoulder…and they sunk. Robin howled as he punched the beast in the head. It kept its teeth in, even as Robin's punches continued to chip away at its skull. Finally, it let go…because there was no more head. Robin grimaced as he pulled out rocky teeth, smashing the others with his armored feet. However, he had a new problem; his left shoulder now had a serious wound. "Just great."

**_KABOOM!_**

Robin looked up as another building vanished before Oblivion's power. This time, the dust became locusts that buzzed everywhere (Godsend would've likened it to the Biblical plague of locusts that befell Egypt) throughout Jump City, searching for nourishment. Oblivion continued on, his Glimmer lines slashing through abandoned cars like a hot knife through butter (literally; one of the cars actually melted into butter upon contact with the Glimmer).

Robin frowned. _We're going to need the others._

"Robin…?"

Robin turned to see Starfire floating (her head sporting a nasty bump, but she was fine otherwise). Her green eyes stared at the bloody wound on his shoulder. "You are injured."

"Nothing Raven won't be able to fix," answered Robin. "Cyborg can give me some anesthetics to dull the pain. But we have to keep Oblivion from destroying anything else."

Starfire's eyes glowed bright green. "He will NOT." The Tamaranean roared as she charged after Oblivion.

Robin stared…and grimaced as he felt the sting in his shoulder. "Agh…"

"Somebody call for a first aid-kit?"

The leader of the Titans turned around to face Cyborg – the metallic half of his face sporting a large dent, but otherwise he was fine – pulling a small tube out of a slot in his left arm. A small needle popped out of the tip. "If you act like a big boy and don't cry, I'll give you a lollipop."

Robin chuckled. "Sure…no cherry though."

xxxx

"_**HRAAAAAAAA!"**_

Oblivion turned around-

**SLAM!**

Two glowing fists of green slammed into his face, sending him careening backwards along the world. Starbolts peppered his body, even as he stood to face the enraged Tamaranean.

"YOU HAVE HURT ROBIN!" roared Starfire as she fired eye lasers at Oblivion. The fusion warrior's right hand glowed white as he formed a reflective shield – it looked like a mirror – out of air molecules, bouncing the lasers back at her. Reality-altering powers were amazing things; with them, you could alter molecules to form anything you desired.

It was something that would soon be brought into play on a grander scale…but in the meantime, Oblivion sprouted two-dozen razor-sharp Glimmer lines that lashed at Starfire, cutting into her skin. She didn't care; she was too busy focused on pummeling the monster that her friends had become to care.

Her friends had…become…

That was right, wasn't it? Friend Noel and friend Robert were still in there…

So as Starfire punched the living daylights out of Oblivion…she suddenly hesitated.

And that allowed the dazed metahuman to regain his focus…and his blue eyes flared with rage. **"THAT HURT."** The Glimmer wrapped around a nearby lamppost, and the twenty-foot structure suddenly became as elastic as a rubber band. Oblivion reared the Glimmer and swung.

**THWAP!**

It was like a fly swatter swatting a fly. Except when the lamppost hit Kory from above, it retained its metallic mass and feel. You can probably guess what that meant.

Starfire created another crater in the road, this time causing a shockwave that shattered nearby windows. Fortunately, Cyborg and Robin were immediately on the attack…and they were using their infamous tag team attack.

"I got the Sonic!" Cyborg charged his sonic cannon.

"And I've got the Boom!" Robin threw another explosive disc, although this one was of a special make; at least five times the destructive power of his regular discs.

Cyborg fired. The blue stream of sonic energy slammed into the explosive disc.

Oblivion vanished in a wave of white energy, his body careening into a building with an almighty crash. The collision caused the entire edifice to collapse upon the fused teen; he was now buried under several tons of stone and metalwork.

For all the good that would do…but it was enough to stall for some time. Even as the rubble began to shift.

xxxx

"Ooh…" Starfire opened her eyes, feeling a distinct pain in her head. "Raven…?"

"Your skull had a hairline fracture around the forehead. I healed it." Raven touched her head lightly; she had already absorbed the pain from Robin's wound, and now she had the pain of a fracture to deal with it. But it was nothing; she had endured far worse.

Speaking of Robin, he was talking to Beast Boy. "So everything around us for 200 yards is clear?"

Beast Boy nodded. "The police are taking care of the rest of the evacuations. Since most of the hospitals are in the downtown area, we figured we could come and help once we got a little breathing room."

"Thanks BB. We'll need all the room we could get," replied Cyborg as he stared at the mountain of dirt and stone. It was starting to rumble from within.

"And even then it might not be enough. Our friends have truly become a powerful foe," remarked Starfire with a frown as she hovered in the air. Her body was tense; after slung into the ground twice, she had to be more careful.

Terra, on the other hand, was grinning. "That collapsed building is PERFECT. I'll try and compact it!" The geokinetic's hands glowed yellow as she began manipulating the dirt and rock, pushing it inward in the hopes of injuring Oblivion…somewhat.

But it was all for naught, as a massive colossus rose from the ruin, standing at 100 feet tall. Its appearance was bedraggled and junky (to be expected), but the outline was uncanny; it seemed like the…

"MegaZord?" Beast Boy facefaulted. "Is Oblivion a Power Rangers fan or something?"

"Gauntlet, perhaps," remarked Raven. "Its most likely a subconscious manifestation of one of Gauntlet's memories."

Terra's hands glowed yellow again. "Doesn't matter, it's going down! **HUAAAA!**" The 'MegaZord' began to break apart-

A flash of white light.

All of a sudden, its body was no longer composed of raw materials. It was now an exact duplicate of the MegaZord itself…except instead of looking like a man in an cardboard suit, it now looked like the high-tech weapon of mechanized destruction it was meant to be…except this time, it wasn't in the hands of the good guys.

For Oblivion now stood atop the MegaZord's head, his Glimmer lines linked with the machine. "Crush them."

The massive multi-colored mech's yellow eyes flashed as a laser blast erupted from the two horns atop the MegaZord's head, blasting at the Teen Titans.

"SCATTER!" roared Robin as everyone ran for cover. The females took to the air while the boys sought shelter from below.

Of course, it wouldn't help to retaliate in some fashion. Cyborg unleashed a Sonic Cannon blast. The sound-based stream crashed into the MegaZord's breastplate (resembling a red mouth with razor-sharp teeth). It did virtually nothing.

Beast Boy howled in protest. "DUDE! That's so not fair! Aren't they supposed to explode in a bunch of sparks and fall over whenever they're hit?"

"Apparently, this baby's playing by new rules!" retorted Cyborg as the MegaZord's right foot – the yellow Sabertooth Tiger – nearly crushed. "I'm more worried about copyright infringement! What if a Saban executive sees this thing?"

"Less jokes, more action!" roared Robin as he swung away from another MegaZord laser blast with his grappling hook.

Meanwhile, Starfire, Raven, and Terra were trying to get to Oblivion…but the MegaZord kept swinging its massive sword around, preventing them from getting any closer. The blonde Titan frowned as she willed several large pieces of rubble (we're talking at least 200 hundred pounds here) into the air and catapulted them at the MegaZord with a thought.

One slash annihilated every single rock that Terra had thrown. Her jaw dropped out of disbelief. "Oh please! Why can't it act like a guy in a clunky suit?"

"Because it's not a guy in a clunky suit anymore," replied Raven as her eyes glowed white. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" A black aura covered the entire sword, and it bent downward on itself.

The MegaZord glanced at its ruined sword for a second before throwing it at Starfire. The Tamaranean squeaked as it slammed into her, sending her flying. Terra immediately began moving in for the attack…but then stopped when two MORE laser cannons emerged from the back of the MegaZord. "Uh oh."

Lasers filled the air as Terra weaved in and out of the crossfire, looking more like a surfer at the moment. Then she had a wipeout when her rock was blasted into smithereens. "AAAAAH!" screamed Terra as she started falling.

Her fall was much shorter than expected, for she landed on the back of a green pterodactyl. "Oh. Thanks BB!"

"Don't mention it Terra," screeched the Changeling, his voice sounding high-pitched due to his current form.

Meanwhile, Raven was once again on the attack. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Segments of the broken road rose into the air, slamming into the MegaZord. This only caused Oblivion to frown as he manipulated the MegaZord's inner workings, causing two large cannons to slide up from the mech's back. The empath paled as she was targeted by the massive weapons. "Uh oh."

"Farewell," muttered Oblivion, the cannons charging with red energy.

Then…the unexpected happened; Schmidt's Law kicked in: never eat prunes when you're hungry.

…wait. Wrong one.

Let's see…Nader's Law…Acton's Law…ah, here we go. Murphy's Law.

What can go wrong will go wrong.

For a red and blue blur suddenly slammed into the MegaZord, toppling it over to the ground. Oblivion blinked as he jumped away from the falling mech, landing on the road some distance away (and using his powers to turn the pavement into a trampoline at the last moment). However, before he could retaliate, a green energy field wrapped around him and threw him into the air, moments before a flying woman slammed a fist into his face, sending him straight through several buildings before stopping.

At the same time, a red and yellow blur zoomed over the fallen robot. Moments later, it fell apart into hundreds of pieces, its body and inner workings dislocated at every gear, joint, and wire.

The Titans gathered around the MegaZord, just as the four new arrivals stood in front of them.

Robin blinked out of shock. Starfire gasped out of surprise. Cyborg nearly cleaned his eyes with industrial-strength cleaner (then he remembered that would possibly melt his biological eye). Raven arched an eyebrow out of slight disbelief. Terra fell to her rear out of utter shock; this was the first time she had seen THESE people up close.

In the end, Beast Boy put it best. "Dude…"

They were unmistakable.

Superman, the Man of Steel.

Wonder Woman, the Amazon Warrior.

The Flash, Fastest Man Alive.

And the Green Lantern…more specifically, the boring one.

John Stewart glared at the sky. "And what do you mean by that?"

Your only use for the ring is to shoot lasers! At least Hal Jordan was more creative.

"Can you just focus on the story?"

**_CRASH!_**

Barring that collapse of the fourth wall, of course.

Robin was amazed. _What's the Justice League doing here?_ Take note that this was before the Thanagarian takeover of Earth…and hence before the advent of the JLU. Which meant John Stewart had his old look: closely shaven black hair and a clean face (better than his Unlimited makeover in any case). Regaining his composure, the leader of the Titans. "This is unexpected. What are you four doing here?"

Superman (goodness, he was so imposing…the mere sight of him were causing some of the Titans to get shaky knees. And you couldn't blame them; this was SUPERMAN) answered, "We were dealing with a magical beast summoned by Vandal Savage, who was dabbling in some ancient underground ruins in the Bahamas."

"Which beast?" asked Raven.

"Behemoth."

The sorceress paled. "You mean THE-?"

"Same mythical beast of legend, got it," said Flash with his ever-confident grin. "As if that wasn't bad enough, turns out our battle with Behemoth woke up another mythical beast who happened to be napping on the ocean floor. What was it, uh…Levitate?"

"Leviathan," corrected Green Lantern.

Raven blinked. "And…you subdued them?"

"It took awhile, but we managed to suppress them long enough for Dr. Fate to come and seal them away for us," replied Wonder Woman. "We were about to head back to the Watchtower when J'onn called us; he was getting some strange energy readings from Florida, originating in Jump City."

"And since we were practically a stone's throw away, we figured we'd make a quick stop! Seems like it's a good thing we did too," finished Flash as he gazed down the road at the row of buildings that now sported several holes, forming the line through which Oblivion had fell. "Geez Diana, you punch him hard enough?"

The warrior of Themyscira casually replied, "Considering what J'onn said was emanating from this city, I doubt that would put him down for long."

"You'd be right on that one," replied Cyborg as his systems did a quick self-diagnostic. "My systems are still rarin' to go Robin."

"So what's the situation?" asked the Kryptonian superhero.

Robin sighed – he had to calm himself down, this was a fellow hero…but it was SUPERMAN – as he regained his composure. "Long story short, two of our teammates were merged together by a magic spell gone wrong. They're Savior and Gauntlet. The spell's malfunction was due to interference from Slade-"

Green Lantern blinked. "Slade? As in Deathstroke the Terminator?"

"Yeah," answered Beast Boy somewhat shyly. "He's to us what Joker is to Batman……………can I have an autograph by the way?"

The black man smiled. "Since you have to deal with a villain like Deathstroke all the time, I'll give you two when this all over."

This sent Beast Boy into a fit of giggles as he scurried over to Cyborg, his eyes filled with the starriness normally associated with hero worship. "Dude, did you hear THAT? **_TWO_** autographs!"

"Can the hero worship Beast Boy," ordered Robin. "We have a battle to contend with, remember?" He turned towards the four Justice Leaguers. "As I was saying, the miscast spell caused our two teammates to fuse together into a being that calls himself Oblivion. As a side-effect of Slade's interference, my doppleganger from another dimension lost his reality-altering powers. Now Oblivion has them. Combine that with Raven's magic-based essence, Savior's nervous system, and Gauntlet's…well, Gauntlet, and you have a lot of power. So much so that he has no control over it."

"As far as I can tell, Oblivion's new psyche is composed of two parts: raw emotion and basic instinct. As a result of this, it's easy to get him mad…and that's a very bad thing." Raven gazed at the buildings Wonder Woman had sent Oblivion through; the last one was beginning to glow white. "And it looks like he's up and running again."

Robin grimaced. "Man…I hate to ask this, but we appreciate the help."

"Don't mention it," replied Flash with a shrug. "After all, you kids WERE the ones who dealt with the Final Night and the Last Wish. I say it's about time we grownups lend a hand."

The Teen Wonder nodded as he turned to the Man of Steel. "So…you're obviously the most experienced of us all. Any ideas on what to do?"

Oddly enough, Kal-El smiled at this. "This is the Titans' city. And you're their leader. You make the call."

Robin blinked as the other Titans stared in shock. Superman had all but outright put himself under his command. To be blunt, Tim Drake was now the temporary leader of Earth's greatest superhero…as well as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash to boot.

"Okay then…" Robin quickly returned to 'Leader' mode as he turned to the Flash. "Flash, I need you to first assist with the evacuations. We managed to get everywhere within 200 yards evacuated, but at the rate this battle's going, we'll be running out of room soon. Get everyone at least one mile outside of the city limits."

Flash nodded. "Okay…so how many people are in this city?"

"Roughly 1.3 million."

"Hmm. Okay, gotcha. Gimme about five minutes. Maybe ten at the most." Then he was gone in a burst of red.

Robin turned to Superman. "Superman, I want you to assist Starfire and Raven in an aerial support role." He turned to Diana. "Wonder Woman, you'll be with me and Beast Boy in close-quarters combat." Finally, he faced John Stewart. "Green Lantern, you, Cyborg, and Terra will be our artillery."

"Long-distance support." His eyes flashed green in unison with his power ring. "Understood."

Rumbling.

The nine heroes turned to face the nearest building that Wonder Woman had sent Oblivion through. It was no more, as a series of Glimmer lines had torn through it. The golden man walked out of the smoke, his crystal blue eyes set into a hardened glare that would've made most men wet themselves. If there was one word to describe the look on his face…it was 'rage'.

And boy oh boy, was he mad. "You…HURT me…"

The intellect that commanded the body now knew something else; it didn't like pain. At all.

"…**RRRRR…"** His right hand suddenly glowed as the Glimmer formed an extra-large hand, which he used to tear through the road. Moments later, he pulled a water main up.

"What is he doing?" asked Terra.

The water main glowed…and reformed into an exact replica of the four-barreled AA gun known as the Flakvierling. However, instead of bullets as ammo…Oblivion had water.

John Stewart paled. "EVERYONE, FIND COVER!"

The Glimmer latched onto the controls of the Flakvierling, and Oblivion opened fire. Watery projectiles erupted from the four barrels with a strangely quiet sound, as there was no explosives involved; only water pressure. Nevertheless, these 'hydro bullets' were infinitely more deadly than the metal ones used during World War II. If pressurized enough, water could cut a hole through practically anything.

Green Lantern immediately formed a shield that spanned the street, protecting those on the ground from the barrage. However, it wasn't meant to last. "Scatter! I can't hold this forever!"

Robin turned to Wonder Woman and Beast Boy. "We'll go around through the alleys and strike him by surprise."

Wonder Woman and Beast Boy nodded as they dashed through the alleyways. Terra, meanwhile, willed dozens of rocks and all shapes and sizes into the air above. "Here's the main course!" She heaved her arms forward, causing the multitude of rocks to begin their bombardment.

Oblivion trained the sights of the Flakvierling on the incoming boulders, chipping away at them with a barrage of water. Try as she might, Terra couldn't manipulate her storm of storm fast enough to get closer to the golden fighter.

Of course, there was another Stone who could do the job. Victor Stone, that is.

For Cyborg suddenly jumped off one of the larger boulders, past the highest angle of fire that the Flakvierling could aim, and armed his Sonic Cannon. **"BOOYAH!"** He fired.

A Glimmer strand suddenly WRAPPED AROUND the sonic blast…and froze it. Cyborg could only pale as the golden strand of energy wrapped around the frozen energy stream and sent him flying with a well-timed hit. **"THAT'S JUST NOT** **RIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT….!"**

Green Lantern was having a double take of his own. "How could he freeze sound waves? That's physically impossible!" After all, sound was a wave; to stop a sound wave, one would have to utterly stop the wave at the molecular level, and once that happened, sound ceased to exist. Hence, one couldn't 'freeze' sound. At least not in the way Oblivion had just did it.

Terra grimaced as Cyborg landed behind the Green Lantern's shield. "I'm beginning to see why Savior didn't like Larry's reality-altering powers. They can be a real pain!"

In the air, Starfire and Superman each let loose their respective eye-based powers; laser vision and heat vision. Green and red energy collided against the Flakvierling, shattering it. Oblivion immediately formed two Glimmer lines that grew into 'mouths'; each mouth gobbled up a metal beam from the fallen building behind him and started spitting golden bullets up at the aerial combatants (complete with the cartoony spit sound effect).

Superman impulsively got in front of the bullets…and blanched as they exploded upon his body. _Acid bullets?_

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven coated the bullets with her black aura and redirected them at Oblivion. Although the ground around him disappeared – eaten away by the acid – he was unscathed, thanks to the shield provided by the Gauntlet portion of his powers.

Oblivion was not done; he clapped his hands together, and the sound waves that traveled upward towards the three suddenly turned into iron crescents, sharper than a sword.

Starfire squeaked as she dodged. Superman backpedaled just as Raven's body was swallowed by darkness. "Superman, come to me!" The Kryptonian turned around just as he was swallowed by the darkness within Raven…and then they both disappeared…

…and reappeared right behind Oblivion, who turned with a look of displeasure. Raven threw her cloak open, revealing a charging Superman. Even Oblivion couldn't help but look stunned.

_**BAM!**_

He was sent skidding along the ground, coming to a stop fifty yards away as windows shattered from the force of the blow. The fused Titan growled; that blow had actually dented his breastplate! But in the end, it didn't matter; his nervous system dealt with the pain, while his magical aura healed the wound itself.

But even so, he was caught off guard again, this time by two teens and an Amazon warrior charging from the dark alleyway.

Beast Boy – as a ram – rammed (lolpun) his head into Oblivion's abdomen.

Robin struck the side of Oblivion's face with his bo staff.

Wonder Woman gave Oblivion's torso a double-fisted punch.

Result: he was sent skidding again, this time carving an even longer trench in the ruined road (heck, Wonder Woman was nearly as strong as Superman, if not AS strong).

He came to a stop by the Green Lantern's shield.

John Stewart eyed the dazed teen. "I believe you've been causing some damage." He formed a massive mallet with his ring and smashed it into Oblivion. Terra immediately added by willing the earth to swallow him whole, creating an impromptu grave.

Oblivion had been put down for now. But not forever.

Green Lantern flew over to the others. "A tricky little son of a gun. Will that hold him?"

"I doubt it," grumbled Cyborg. "The guy's like fighting a brick wall!"

Wonder Woman frowned as the rubble began to shift. "He's beginning to move." Something told her – call it gut instinct – that something REALLY big was about to happen.

Flash suddenly skidded to a stop beside them. "Hey guys, what I miss?"

"_**RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"**_

The ground within a twenty-yard diameter of Oblivion was vaporized as a white column of light erupted from the ground, causing the road to quake. When the light ceased, Oblivion floated in the sky…and he was utterly ticked off. The power within his body was radiating in DROVES…

And, as an unexpected result, cracks began to appear.

In the sky, that is. And in buildings. And in the road.

"Uh…is the sky about to fall?" muttered Beast Boy as he lookedfearfully at the sky.

"No…those are rifts," replied Raven. "Where they lead, I can't say."

Superman's face contorted into an expression of displeasure as his sense of smell detected a strange scent in the air, emanating from the rifts… "Ozone…coming from the rifts…"

At that moment, one of the rifts on the ground spawned a herd of fleeing dinosaurs: the duckbilled Maiasaurus. They were being chased by the bigger and nastier cousin of the Velociraptor: the Utahraptor.

Beast Boy blinked at the sight. "Uh…wha…?"

Then two German Junkers Ju87 dive-bombers – better known as Stuka dive-bombers – flew out of a rift in the sky. And they were being chased by Black Condor of the famous Freedom Fighters. The Stukas whirled around to avoid the flying superhero and dove back into the rift, with the Freedom Fighter following close behind. In yet another rift, ravenous demons came out, charging at another rift from which cute little squirrels emerged.

Then the squirrels promptly pulled out bazookas and blew the demons to bits.

The Titans sweatdropped. The Flash muttered, "O…kay…so why's everything going haywire?"

"Too much power," muttered Cyborg as his robotic eye scanned the area around Oblivion. "His realtiy-altering powers and magical abilities are conflicting with each other, and they're opening holes in the fabric of reality as a result. And with all that power he's radiating, more are gonna open."

Robin scowled. "It's like the Chronoton Destablizer all over again…it seems that these rifts lead to different timelines as well. But their presence here can't be good; what if some powerful force emerges from a portal, feeling curious? Remember the world where the Lord won? I don't want to see a rift leading to THERE. The last thing we need is a guy like him."

"…and yet, it may just be the key to our success."

Everyone turned to Raven, who was staring at the slowly growing number of white tears in the air around them. "Not to be insulting…but considering the massive amount of power Oblivion possesses, I don't think the Justice League alone will be enough to help us win this battle." The empath stared at them with calm eyes of purple, even as an enraged Oblivion advanced towards them. "I'm going. Stall for time if you have to."

"Wait. Where are you going?" asked Wonder Woman.

"Yes friend Raven, tell us why you are leaving?" asked a fearful Starfire.

She gazed at a jagged portal in the sky…and as Oblivion leapt into the air, she spoke.

"To get backup." And then Raven vanished in a dim flash of black energy.

This happened just as Oblivion descended toward them, several dozen Glimmer threads emerging from his back. They were thrashing about, giving off the appearance of a maelstrom that would utterly eviscerate anything it touched.

Flash gulped. "Oh boy, that's not good."

xxxx

"Hmm…I never quite expected the Justice League to show up and assist them…" Deathstroke smiled nonetheless. "And yet, Oblivion is holding his own quite well…"

But it was the appearance of these new rifts in reality that intrigued him the most…for they, like the spell that had stuck Robert and Noel's hands together, presented…opportunities.

Opportunities that Slade would only be too happy to explore.

xxxx

To be continued…

Next time…

_**Crisis**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: Phil and Ralph belong to Bobcat. The superheroes (you know who they are) belong to DC. And I am tired now.

See you soon, and please review! (sleeps)


	7. Crisis

Standard Disclaimer: X.X

Author's Notes: It's dead Jim. To experienced Legendverse readers…behold a chapter of a length you're more accustomed to. ;)

Anywho, this is the climax of the story, the penultimate chapter…how will the battle with Oblivion resolve?

Why…with a Crisis of course…

xxxx

_**Crisis**_

xxxx

The smell of ozone.

Raven hadn't smelled it in a long time. The last time she had smelt it so strongly had been when Slade's Chronoton Destabilizer had sent the Titans – the original five – hurtling through alternate timelines. That had not been a pleasant experience; one she had hoped would never resurface again.

However, here she was again; entering rifts and traveling to different worlds. She only hoped that she went to the right ones…after all, a world that had been destroyed or a world dominated by Whim wouldn't be the best choice.

She fell through the exit of the rift, which still remained behind her (as it should; Oblivion's power was leaking over into multiple realities). The empath gazed around, she seemed to be in an empty stadium box seat of some kind. However, she could see rays of light leaking in through the windows.

She gazed out of them and down into a domed stadium; apparently, the audience for whatever event they were hosting were all sitting on the lower levels. _What is this…?_

The loudspeakers turned. "Now ladies and gentlemen, for the next contestant in the WABBA International…the anonymous beauty…the feminine powerhouse…known only as RAVEN!"

Raven blinked as a ridiculously buffed-up version of herself (henceforth known as Uber Raven. THE AUTHOR HAS SPOKEN!) walked out on stage in a purple two-piece bikini. She sweatdropped as Uber Raven began posing. Then she facefaulted as Uber Raven began twitching her biceps, making them 'jiggle'.

_Okay…perhaps I'll try elsewhere_, thought Raven as she floated back into the rift.

xxxx

Jump City.

Oblivion's Glimmer looked like an unholy storm of golden lines, each one as sharp as a knife. If it touched you, you would become sliced hamburger.

However, these weren't regular humans.

Terra willed forth an earthen wall, thicker than most bank vaults. Green Lantern reinforced it by putting up a giant shield of green.

"Will it hold?" asked Starfire.

Several golden strands had managed to get through the barrier…and they promptly slashed through Green Lantern's shield, the powerful energy of the Glimmer ripping through.

"Apparently not. RUN!" yelled John Stewart as he flew backwards. Everyone else scattered in different directions, taking refuge behind buildings and

Oblivion slowly lowered himself to the ground, using Glimmer strands to lessen his downward velocity. As he set foot on the ground, his blue eyes looked around in silence. The ones fighting him had fled…for now.

He would fight them if they came back. They were making him angry…and he didn't like it.

The fused Titan continued his rampage through the city, even as more of his power leaked out…and even as more rifts opened. A number of things were becoming quite hectic in the city.

From one series of rifts poured three different fighting forces: the massive Hun armies that had plagued ancient China, a division of disciplined British troops from the American Revolution, and an armored brigade of Nazis from the battlefields of World War II. Naturally, out of confusion, the three groups had begun fighting each other, and their conflict was spreading throughout the city.

A strange kind of vegetation – almost like kudzu, except with extremely thick vines and enlarged leaves – spread from one rift, growing over buildings and making them appear dilapidated and decrepit in a rather convincing way. With these vines – obviously from a tropical region on the other end of the rift – came flying insects. They seemed like a cross between hornets and killer bees, save for the fact their lithe bodies were completely red. Their stingers, which were slick and free of any barbs, were colored a dark blue; the color of the deadly poison they contained.

Another rift brought out three familiar beasts; George the Gorilla, Lizzie the Dinosaur, and Ralph the Werewolf. And they were here to cause a rampage.

All around, reality was tearing itself apart. Various creatures and beings from infinite timelines – where anything and everything theoretically possible that could happen had happened – were being sucked in as the walls of reality began to collapse upon themselves.

And the source of it all – Oblivion – couldn't care less. After all, why should he? He had only one objective; to constantly use his power, lest it build up and destroy him from within.

Suddenly, he was hit in the back. Hard.

Oblivion howled as he was sent skidding along the ground, creating another trench in the battered street. The reality-altering menace glared at the attacker.

Superman.

In a way, it was odd that a paragon of heroism such as he had been raised out in the middle of nowhere (well, Smallville to be precise) by country folk. A mighty man raised by such humble folk. Then again, that's why so many people looked up to him…because he embodied ideals everyone envied and wanted.

He hoped his status might somehow be of use against what the two Titans had become. "Stand down Oblivion. You're only going to hurt yourself and others if you keep this up."

"Quit telling me to stop…" growled Oblivion as the Glimmer shifted around his hands and feet, morphing into golden fists and feet.

Superman frowned. "This is my last warning. Stand down, or I won't hold back." That wasn't exactly true; although he knew Oblivion was powerful, he didn't think his body was sturdy enough to handle a punch at full power.

"I WILL NOT STOP," rumbled Oblivion as the curved red fins on his shoulder blades suddenly elongated, spinning rapidly. He slowly hovered into the air…and with a tremendous burst of speed, charged at the Man of Steel.

The Man from Krypton charged as well, fist forward.

The golden fist collided with the Kryptonian fist.

You can probably guess who was sent flying backwards.

Oblivion gagged as he was sent backwards, straight into a building. Although his powers were incredible – and so destructive they were causing reality to fall apart – he wasn't on par with Superman. Not on a physical level, in any case.

Unless Oblivion could change himself as well…

But we could only watch as the fused warrior pulled himself out of the newly formed hole just as Superman hit him again.

_**CRASH!**_

The teen grimaced as the tremendous force from the punch sent him straight through the other side of the 30-story office complex. He managed to right himself in the air just in time for another series of punches from Superman. Oblivion angrily ducked under one punch in time to deliver an uppercut to Superman's chin, sendinghim backwards. However, it wouldn't be enough.

So in a sudden moment of clarity, his tactical mindset gave him an idea. His body shimmered for a moment as the Glimmer retracted.

_Hmm…what did he just do?_ thought Superman with a frown. Had he put up a shield, or perhaps something else? "Only one way to find out," whispered Superman as he dashed downward at Oblivion, who had set down on the ground.

Oblivion only watched as Superman slammed a fist into his chest.

And he promptly exploded; all of his body from the waist up splattered into hundreds of pieces along the road, staining it with blood.

The Man of Steel paled as he retracted his hands. "Oh no…" He stared at his fists with sheer horror. "What have I done…?"

He gazed back at Oblivion…and saw that the Glimmer – the super-powered nervous system of the fused warrior – was still standing…and his legs had become silvery in color. At that moment, the rest of Oblivion's body parts slithered back; they appeared to be nothing more than silver-colored liquid.

_Liquid metal…?_ Superman was still in a self-induced daze, too panicked to fully understand what had just happened. That shine had been Oblivion turning his body into nanobots…which were far less durable than a body. But the difference was that they could come back together.

The Glimmer disappeared under the mass of Oblivion's nanobots…and they suddenly morphed into something bigger. When the tiny machines finally took on an appearance…Superman paled.

The red eyes of Darkseid were staring at him. "Greetings Superman."

Then he shot the Man of Steel up-close with a dose of the Omega Effect.

"**_AAAAAAAAAGH!"_** howled Superman as the powerful beams blasted him on the other side of the city; Oblivion had managed to use his powers to mimic those of the Lord of Apokolips. Heaven forbid if he managed to discover how to use the Omega Effect to its fullest.

However, it seemed that Oblivion desired his original form, for he shifted back to his old body – fully healed and good as new – as he shined briefly; a sign he was once again flesh and blood.

However, just as he turned, he saw the Flash.

Wally West grinned. "Hey there."

Then all Oblivion saw was red, for the Flash ran around him like a vortex, punching him all the while. Even with the Glimmer, his senses were being overwhelmed with so many different instances of pain (and punches coming at you at the speed of light or, on occasion, FASTER – the Speed Force did not follow the rules of this universe – definitely hurt) that he couldn't properly mount a counterattack.

Flash grinned as he continued his assault. Perhaps he could manage to weather this guy down…

Little did he know that Oblivion's body was beginning to burn with unused power.

xxxx

Elsewhere in the city (downtown, to be precise), Robin was on top of a large apartment, speaking into his communicator.

Reason? To call for backup. Even with the Justice League, the multiple rifts that Oblivion had opened were turning the city into pure chaos (heck, on his way here, he thought he had seen King Kong fighting Dr. Cube). With so much going on, he doubted only nine heroes (Raven was still gone, trying to find assistance from within the rifts) would be up to the task. Even with the likes of Superman on their side.

So he had first called the Justice Society of America. He had gotten Mr. Terrific on the horn.

And…

"**Sorry Robin, we can't come right now."**

"What?" replied the Teen Wonder with a frown. "Why not?"

Michael Holt winced as the sounds of explosions echoed through his side of the line. **"You remember Anton Hensen?"**

Robin blinked out of realization. "Aberration? Are you fighting him?" A nod was his answer. "What's Aberration doing in New York? I thought he was being held in the Jump City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs."

"**Well, the New York branch has been working on a new biotechnology that they were developing for medical purposes. They wanted a fragment of Aberration for study. They got it…but unfortunately, the delivery truck got into a traffic accident on a street leading into downtown. From what we could gather, the accident caused the security devices keeping Aberration in check failed, and he escaped. As he went on, he continued to mutate, feeding off of anything and everything. By the time we confronted him in downtown New York, he was at least 50 feet tall."**

Robin cursed. "I see…I'll have to get some other backup then. Good luck."

"**Thanks. We'll need all the luck we can get."** Mr. Terrific turned around as an explosion sounded. **"Hold on Stargirl, I'll-"**

The screen on Robin's communicator cut off.

The Teen Wonder grimaced. _Well, guess that leaves out the Justice Society._ "I'll try the Outsiders next."

"_**HADOKEN!"**_

His communicator suddenly shattered, destroyed by a blue blast of energy. _What the?_

Right near a rift that had appeared behind him, two combatants had poured out. The first wore a white gi, while the other wore a dark blue gi. The first had brown hair, while the other had spiky red hair. The first one's hands flared with a blue energy, while the other's red eyes fit in perfectly with his purple aura.

Akuma grinned. "You missed."

Ryu snarled as he fired once more. "HADOKEN!"

Tim Drake blinked as he watch the two fight. _A world where Street Fighter happened? Cyborg and Beast Boy would kill to see this._

Robin blinked as he looked around. The others! He had to get back with them-

BZZT.

Robin took a step forward, but he nearly did so off a building. "WHOA!" The Teen Wonder hastily stepped back as he nearly fell 20 stories. "Man…that was a close one."

Then he realized he was no longer near downtown, but rather near the city limits. _How'd I get here?_ Then he glanced down and saw that he had been pursuing…a squad of Panzer tanks? _What are Nazis doing here? And why are there ten tanks…_

He glanced ahead…and blinked.

…_fighting AT-STs?_ Indeed; two AT-STs of Star Wars lore had stumbled out of a rift and were now engaged with the German tanks. Lasers torched one Panzer, while three fired simultaneously at the armored legs of the bipedal tanks, but to no avail.

The Teen Wonder clutched his head. _Man, this is just getting a little too chaotic._ He glanced around they city; a greater number of rifts had opened by now, coming to well over a hundred. A few skyscrapers had even been devoured by rifts, disappearing into a white nothingness. _The city's falling apart at the seams…we need to stop Oblivion and reverse the damage!_

And so Robin took back off toward downtown, hoping to find one of his teammates, unknowing that he had actually pursued the Panzer tanks in the hope that Oblivion had created them out as he had the MegaZord, thus leading him to either a teammate or Oblivion himself.

But he didn't know that…because he hadn't experienced it…yet he had lived through it.

Confused?

We'll come back in a moment.

xxxx

Raven grumbled as she exited another rift. Ever since Uber Raven, all of her trips had been busts; one world had been nothing but an endless desert, another had been a decrepit land devastated by nuclear winter, and her last trip had landed her in Jump City…except the Titans had been a team of superhero lawyers, armed with Audit Guns, Revenue Snatchers, and the almighty Tax Hammer (non-deductibles included!). Needless to say, not fit for what she had in mind. _This is becoming a pointless task. Unless I find some help soon, there won't be much of Jump City left._

She gazed around; this version of Jump City seemed to be set in the middle of a jungle. Trees stretched high into the air, forming a canopy over roads no longer used by man. Vines hung from the canopy, allowing for one to swing on for miles. Broken and weary buildings were covered with foliage and moss, showing that time and nature had conquered urban civilization. The sun managed to shine through the canopy in various spots, allowing for some semblance of light in the shaded city. Nevertheless, everything was eerily quiet…

"Hmm…well this world seems dead," muttered Raven. She prepared to head back through the portal-

"Who are you?"

Raven turned around…and blinked. Staring at her from a broken window was a gorilla with silvery fur. Her husky frame was clothed in a dark blue leotard, combined with a blue hood and cloak. Her feet and hands were rough and muscular, and her eyes were empty; nothing but white orbs.

Raven shook her head. "Hold on a second…who are YOU?"

"I asked first," muttered the silvery gorilla, her voice gruff and deep.

Raven's violet eyes narrowed. "My name is Raven."

The gorilla stared. "My name is Mockingbird." She gazed at the human girl, as if measuring her with a glance. "Clothes similar to mine…yet you are human. How has the Transformation not affected you?"

"Well, you see-"

"Never mind," grumbled Mockingbird as she gazed back inside. "Follow me. I'll have you meet the others. Besides, Grodd's spies are everywhere; we can't risk having a human be seen. It'll draw suspicion."

Raven could only remain silent as she followed her apparent alternate version through the broken window. She remained silent as Mockingbird led her through two dusty halls to a decrepit elevator. Using her massive fingers, she gingerly pressed the button labeled 'B12'.

As the elevator descended, Mockingbird muttered, "Who are you?"

"I'm you, I would assume. An alternate version of you, in any case," replied Raven with a calm tone. "I came here through a rift in reality, if you're wondering."

"Hmm…" Mockingbird's blank eyes narrowed out of realization. "That would explain the abnormal energy readings Cyborg was receiving. I was sent to investigate."

"…so what happened? What is this 'Transformation' you speak of?" asked Raven.

Mockingbird grumbled. "The Transformation occurred a few years ago; Gorilla Grodd used a device to turn everyone on Earth into gorillas. The Justice League tried to stop him, but by that time, Grodd had used his mental abilities to gain control of most of the planet's supervillains. It was a long battle, but it ended when Grodd personally stabbed a chunk of Kryptonite into Superman's chest. Taking down the rest was a simple matter after that."

"I see," muttered Raven, a frown etched on her face. _Another timeline where a supervillain won. How lovely. _"Why is Jump City in such bad shape?"

Mockingbird's frown deepened. "After the Transformation, most of humanity – well, the humans turned into gorillas – rose up in rebellion against Grodd. However, he had already consolidated his power, along with a good deal of military weapons. So he initiated the Purge: the systematic wiping out of those who resisted him. He used nuclear weapons to annihilate Metropolis and Gotham; Jump City capitulated, willingly surrendering its people to Grodd for slave labor or whatever he intended to do with them. Only a few people live down here now."

Raven could sense bitterness within Mockingbird. Deep bitterness over the past. "Regrets are pointless," pointedly said the empath. "They distract you from the now."

Mockingbird snorted. "It'd be easier if I weren't the daughter of Grodd."

Raven nearly facefaulted. "Uh…Gorilla Grodd is your father?"

"Yes. The daughter of Grodd and his mistress Tala. I was born before the Transformation, so I had some semblance of human genetics within me. Unfortunately, Grodd sired me for the purposes of creating the ultimate weapon; shortly after Tala gave birth to me, Grodd began his experiments. Genetically modifying me so I aged more rapidly. Testing if I had inherited any of Tala's magical capabilities. Testing if I had inherited his telekinetic powers." Mockingbird chuckled. "Fortunately, Tala did not like the idea of her daughter being tested like a lab rat. So while Grodd was busy administering the Purge, she escaped. She ended up here, in Jump City, where the Teen Titans took both of us in."

That was the key. Raven gazed at her counterpart, asking, "What of the Teen Titans? Are they gorillas as well?"

"Yes. All except Soulfire," replied Mockingbird. "Her alien genetic structure wasn't affected by Grodd's device, seeing as how it was too different from the humans' that he targeted to begin with. It was fortunate for our side that some extraterrestrial metahumans like Mister Miracle managed to overcome the Transformation. Unfortunately, not all aliens managed to slip through."

"Like who?"

"Supergirl. Kryptonian DNA is simply too similar to human DNA. Which reminds me…" She gazed at Raven. "Why aren't YOU a gorilla right now? Grodd's device is constant; without the energy field the device emits, our gorilla genes will revert to human ones. It's the main reason why we still fight." Mockingbird slightly smiled. "But I'm going off on a tangent again…why aren't you a gorilla?"

Raven frowned as she thought about it. "Well, in my timeline, I was the daughter of the human woman Arella and the demon Trigon. I'm not quite sure, but I think my demon blood is protecting me from the field."

Mockingbird nodded. "That would explain why Blue Devil of Shadowpact wasn't affected. We keep in touch with all metahumans who've gone into hiding from Grodd. Though I'm not sure how the blood of a demon like Trigon would protect you."

Raven suddenly had an 'Are you kidding me?' look in her eyes. "You MUST be joking."

"No. We fought him before; he was an imp who had a penchant for driving around in motorcycles and knocking down mailboxes."

Now it was Raven's turn to snort. "Lucky you. My timeline's Trigon was a high demon lord who had an army of unholy minions at his disposal. We're basically talking 'end of the world' in terms of his power."

"Oh. Well that sounds unpleasant."

"You don't know the half of it."

The elevator read 'B11'. Mockingbird quickly pressed several buttons (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, B1, and B3 in that order). The elevator read B12.

It continued going down.

Raven stared at Mockingbird. The latter grinned, revealing sharp teeth. "There is no thirteenth floor…unless you're looking for it."

The door opened, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor. Mockingbird walked down the hall – on her knuckles, as gorillas were wont to do – with Raven floating behind her. They stopped in front of an armored door, which Mockingbird knocked on.

A security camera turned to face them.

Moments later, the door shuddered open with a metallic hiss. Raven stared inside.

What she saw was a massive space at least a mile long, with a width of 200 yards and a height of 200 feet. It was essentially a shantytown; countless numbers of refugees and prisoners rescuedfrom Grodd took up residence here, living in somewhat meager conditions (undoubtedly better than anything Grodd had put them through). The population was roughly around 1,000. Guard towers had been improvised near the entry door, and lots of escape tunnels could be seen (in the event of an invasion).

And Mockingbird's team was staring at Raven: the rest of this timeline's Titans.

Raven blinked as she stared at the group. Mockingbird grumbled, "Meet Cyborg…"

Cyborg was a gorilla with black fur all over his body, although his white metal offset this. The torso was completely covered with metal, wrapping around his body (indeed, it seemed as though his limbs were the only part of his body not artificial at first glance) to the back. His legs and arms remained fur and flesh, as were the shoulders. The back of his neck was lined with thin strips of metal, and his entire head – save for the face – was cybernetic. His skull was made of a transparent, yet nigh-invincible blue alloy that showed the inner workings of his electronic brain. His dark eyes were his original eyes, however; and they – along with his smile – showcased a good humor, despite his condition. "Yo."

"Beast…"

Beast – this timeline's version of Beast Boy – looked much like Beast Boy would have if he transformed into a gorilla (a green one, at that). The only difference was that he wore a purple shirt with a black T on it. His voice sounded almost comically deep (maybe making up for his comically light voice as a human). "Hey there. It's been a while since we've seen a human."

"Soulfire…"

Starfire's counterpart could have been described in one word: immodest (though Raven was sure it wasn't intentionally so). She wore an outfit of purple; purple underwear that was connected to a purple collar by two thick strips of clothing that ran over her breasts, covering the nipples (what? Don't look at me like that. Just read.). Her figure was more developed than that of Starfire's (STOP LOOKING! **READ!**), and she actually had a navel. Her footwear consisted of boots that went all the way up to her thighs, and her back was completely bare from the waist up. Finally, her hairstyle was similar to that of Starfire's – red hair that was combed straight – although her green eyes had no irises or pupils; just pure green. She cheerfully exclaimed, "Greetings Human-version-of-Mockingbird! It is wondrous to meet you!"

Raven sweatdropped at Soulfire's demeanor. _At least some things are consistent._

Mockingbird gestured at last to the last of the Titans. "And our leader."

The gorilla stepped forward, revealing thick, dark gray fur and rippling muscles. He wore an armored shirt over his chest, which was colored red. A short yellow cape was draped over his shoulders, but it bore a black 'P' on it. A thick belt wrapped around his waist, and it held large pouches in which he kept his gadgets (extra-large gadgets for his large, primate fingers). The last touch was the green mask over his eyes, complete with white, one-way lenses to hide his identity. The massive gorilla held his large hand forward, speaking in a deep, robust voice. "Greetings Raven. Used to go by the name of Robin, but now people call me Prime. Welcome to the Resistance, Jump City branch."

Raven blinked as she shook Prime's index finger (her hand could actually grab it). "How did you know my name?"

"Mockingbird told me right when you entered."

Raven turned to Mockingbird, who merely tapped her head. "Telepath."

"Now…from what you've told Mockingbird, you came from that rift." Prime sat down, using his knuckles for support. "Mind telling us why you're here?"

"First things first." Raven pointed at Prime, Cyborg, and Beast. "How come you're not wearing pants?"

Beast sighed as he stretched. "One of the few great things about being a gorilla…you don't have a dress code."

"How'd I know you were gonna ask that?" said Cyborg with a toothy grin directed at Raven.

Raven smiled slightly. It seemed as if she had just struck gold. "Well…the truth is, I need your help."

xxxx

Back in Raven's own timeline…

The Flash was growing slightly perturbed. Oblivion had started glowing…and he was glowing brighter. _I know this isn't good…but hey, this might be good._ He would just keep punching.

Oblivion snarled; the burning in his body had reached unbearable levels. His power…couldn't get out…he needed…RELEASE…

With one horrendous roar, Oblivion stomped on the ground.

_**KABOOOM!**_

"WAAAAAAOO!" yelped Wally West as the explosion sent him flying for several miles; a literal mushroom cloud of dust and rock had erupted from the massive output of power from Oblivion. The fused Titan snarled as he stomped away from ground zero; for at least fifty feet outward (and, although he didn't know it, a hundred yards down), the street had become liquefied.

Then, it began sinking into a massive rift that had opened up…and unlike the previous rifts, this one opened up into a white void that began sucking in everything like a black hole (albeit far more weakened in its sheer, destructive force). The liquefied asphalt was sucked in first. Then came fragments of the road. Then lampposts. Then cars.

Superman – finally returning after the head-on blast from the Omega Effect – stared at the rift, frowning. _That's not good._ He had to get Flash and reunite with the others. The only way they could stop Jump City from ripping itself apart was to stop Oblivion.

Speaking of Oblivion, he was being watched by the proverbial fly on the wall. Literally.

Beast Boy morphed back to normal inside an alleyway as he gazed at Oblivion, who casually pureed a whole building with the Glimmer. _Sheesh, he looks mad._ He quickly opened his communicator. "Guys, I found Oblivion! He's on the corner of-"

BZZT.

Beast Boy blinked; what had just happened? Now there were vines growing along the road, and the rift had widened by a whole foot. "Huh? Where'd these vines come from?"

Then he heard a buzzing sound.

He looked up and saw a whole cloud of red insects flying toward him, stingers aimed.

"…uh oh. WAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Beast Boy as he took off, becoming a cheetah for extra speed. The red hornet/bee hybrids (who shall now be called Red Kees. I HAVE SPOKEN YET AGAIN!) took off after the hapless Changeling.

xxxx

Near the coastline.

Jump City Docks.

"Diana?"

"What is it John?"

"How come we always end up fighting Nazis?" growled Green Lantern as he kept his shield up, despite the continuous shelling from Panzer tanks.

"I don't know," replied Wonder Woman as she moved her arms like lightning, blocking and ricocheting every single bullet that came their way. Cyborg, meanwhile…

"GL, NOW!"

A hole opened up in the shield, just as Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon through it. A Panzer tank exploded in a flash of blue. A squad of Germans opened fire with their MP44 assault rifles, peppering the shield with bullets as Cyborg retracted his hand. It closed up before any bullets got through.

Victor Stone grimaced. "This is just wonderful. The whole city's falling apart, and we're dealing with fricken' Nazis! What's next?"

BZZT.

All of a sudden, the Germans were fleeing, being chased by Ralph the Werewolf as he snacked on one hapless Nazi. A Panzer tank opened fire, only to be stepped on as the massive beast pursued the fleeing soldiers.

Wonder Woman blinked. "What just happened there?"

"And wasn't it around noon just now?" asked Cyborg as he gazed at his internal clock, which said 1:00 PM. "We couldn't have been fighting them for an hour. Is my clock on the fritz?"

"It might be, considering how crazy things are getting," postulated Diana.

"I'm not so sure," muttered Green Lantern as he stared at the sky. "The sun's moved…and there are more rifts than before." The Justice Leaguer frowned as the implications began to make themselves clear. "What if reality's becoming so dysfunctional that even time itself is starting to go haywire?"

Cyborg's jaw dropped. "Are you trying to say that time is starting to-"

BZZT.

"-skip forward?" Cyborg blinked; they were now near the main square of the city, in the downtown area. "What the heck? How'd we get here from the docks?"

"I think we came here on our own…I think," muttered Wonder Woman as she gazed at the sky. Flying pixies were having tea with black gremlins on tables made of clouds. Storm clouds had gathered, spewing hail the size of minivans. "Great Hera…this place is falling apart."

"Yo!"

The three turned to see Superman and the Flash. The speedster said, "We were just looking for you guys! Thing is, we kind of ended up in one place after another."

"Green Lantern thinks that reality's gotten so haywire that time is starting to skip forward," said Cyborg as he watched ten British redcoats chase twenty Huns, firing their muskets as they went. Then he sweatdropped as the thirty men turned tail, running from an AT-ST. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Then let's regroup with the others." Superman hovered into the air. "And after that, we find Oblivion!"

Green Lantern clutched onto Cyborg with a strand of green energy as the Justice Leaguers took to the air, save for the Flash (who naturally took followed along the ground.). They had a city to save.

xxxx

Prime scratched his chin out of disbelief. "Amazing…so your two teammates are unintentionallytearing reality apart, and not even help from the Justice League is enough."

Raven nodded.

"And you want us to come help?" replied Beast.

Raven nodded.

Cyborg turned to Prime. "Think we should do it?"

"I'm not sure…we can't afford to be away from our hideaway for long; I'm sure Grodd is already searching for the source of the energy: the rift." Prime frowned; this was a dicey situation. On one hand, it involved leaving the Jump City Resistance headquarters, when they were obligated to protect the less fortunate. On the other hand, there was the fact that another world – a world where Grodd had not taken over – was on the verge of being destroyed.

"We should help."

Everyone turned to Mockingbird, who stood to her full height on her hind legs. "We are the Teen Titans. We are obliged to save Jump City…and Raven's Jump City is in danger."

Prime's eyes narrowed. "What about headquarters? We can't leave it undefended."

"Prime. We're not the only metas here," stated Mockingbird. "Don't forget that Darkwing and the Outcasts set up here after Bludhaven fell. They can hold the fort while we're gone. And it won't even be that long."

"……very well." Prime grabbed his communicator. "Let me notify Dick about this. Then we'll go."

Raven smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you all…but I'm not finished yet. I'm going to search more rifts in the hopes of finding more backup. And I'll need you all to come with me."

"How come?" asked Beast.

"Indeed," said Soulfire. "Would it not be best for us to remain behind in your city to help kick the butt?"

Raven shook her head. "I'm afraid not. If I run into some people who are less inclined to believe me, I'd like to have some visual proof for them that I'm serious. You understand."

Beast grinned as beat his chest. "Of course we do. Let's just hope I don't send them screaming!"

"Your BREATH sends people screaming," cracked Cyborg. Beast snorted as he transformed into an anaconda, hissing at his teammate (apparently, Beast still could change into any animal, it's just he had a different default form).

As Soulfire giggled at the exchange, Raven smiled; some things never changed.

xxxx

Terra seemed almost bored.

After all, she was manipulating pebbles to knock Huns in the head over and over again. And yet the horde kept charging. "Geez…don't these guys ever give up?"

As Terra continued her (half-hearted) barrage upon the massive Mongolian army, Starfire looked around with worry. The city was a shadow of its former self; not only were white rifts visible everywhere she looked, but strange things were befalling the city (had she been in a more cheerful mood, she would've probably giggled with glee at the sight of a skyscraper turning into a mushroom). Titans Tower had fallen, and two of their friends had become a mighty enemy.

Koriand'r clenched her fists tightly; she would return her home to normal. No matter how hard the battle, she would restore everything to normal.

"AAAAGH!"

Starfire blinked as she turned to Terra; the blonde girl had an arrow wedged into her shoulder, the result of a surprise attack from above. The Tamaranean gazed upwards from the street; a number of Huns had gathered in the upper floors, firing upon them with arrows. "Hold on!" Starfire grabbed Terra from under the armpits and took to the air, flying out of range of the Huns' weaponry.

Tara Markov nearly cursed as she fingered the arrow in her left shoulder. "Geesh…can't believe I got hit by an arrow…"

"This is what happens when the guard is dropped, as Noel would put it," regarded Starfire with a smile as she set Terra down on top of Jump City First National Bank. Then she frowned when remembering that Noel was still imprisoned within Oblivion.

"HeeeeeeeEEEE_EEEEE**LLLLLLPPP!**_"

Starfire and Terra glanced upwards to see a green peregrine falcon diving down toward them at high speed (and they are the fastest animals on the planet when diving; can YOU dive at speeds of up to 250 mph? Didn't think so.). Unfortunately for Beast Boy, the Red Kees were equally fast, their bodies enduring a surprising amount of force from their downward speed. The Changeling shrieked, "BLAST THEM! ZAP THEM! USE A CAN OF RAID! OR SOMETHING!"

"Beast Boy, dodge!" yelled Starfire as her hands glowed green. Beast Boy immediately opened his wings – cutting forward from his dive – as Starfire blast the incoming Red Kees.

The poisonous insects, although durable by bug standards, were incinerated by the blast.

Beast Boy panted as he plopped down on top of the bank, gasping for air. "Too…much…bugs…"

"Are you okay Beast Boy?" asked Starfire as she gazed at the Changeling.

"Ask me again when my breath catches up. I think I left it about seven miles away."

"Rrrr….agh…" Terra grimaced as she slowly pulled the arrow out of her shoulder. "At least it isn't barbed," she muttered as she stared at the blood. Then she promptly threw up (thus ignoring the well-established rule to NEVER LOOK AT YOUR OWN BLOOD).

Starfire stared at Terra with a sad frown before looking up at the sky. Clouds were beginning to gather. Black clouds. Red clouds. And pink clouds. _Things are getting-_

BZZT.

_-worse_. Starfire blinked; things had suddenly skipped forward again, just as they had several times within the past hour (or two. Or was it three? She couldn't tell anymore.). _Much worse._

"DUDE! **REPORTERS!**"

Starfire whirled around to see a rift that had formed on the bank roof…and out of it had come a few dozen reporters, complete with cameramen. "Look, it's the Teen Titans!"

They charged.

Starfire blanched as microphones crowded her vision and a number of questions bombarded her.

"Have you caused most of the destruction?"

"Um…"

"Is there any hope?"

"Well-"

"Do you take fashion tips from Aphrodite?"

"Who?"

Beast Boy yelped as microphones slammed into his face. "Dude, this isn't funny!"

One reporter actually jabbed Terra's shoulder wound. "Tell us, how do you feel?"

"**_OOOW!_ WHAT DO YOU THINK?"**

"You don't have to be rude!"

"**_STAR, GET US OUT OF HERE!"_** yelled Garfield Logan as cameras were jabbed into his eye.

The Tamaranean immediately hoisted her friends to safety. Beast Boy coughed up a microphone. "Man, what the heck was that? Savior would've gone ballistic!"

"They actually asked my shoulder how it felt!" indignantly roared Terra, feeling none too happy at the moment.

"We may bicker later," calmly said Starfire as she kept a tight hold on her teammates. "But now we must regroup with the others and stop Oblivion." She only hoped Robin was okay.

And we'll get to him in a moment. But first…

xxxx

Raven and the Ape Titans fell through the rift, coming to a stop in an alleyway.

Beast grimaced as he pulled a piranha off of his butt. "I am NEVER going to swim in the Amazon ever again."

"I told you not to," replied Cyborg with a gruff snicker.

Mockingbird gazed around, her empty eyes taking in everything at a glance. "This city is dark…there's a lot of foul energy in this place."

"This city is reeking with hopelessness," muttered Raven as she floated forward. The Ape Titans had gotten a brief look at her Jump City as they had gone from and to different rifts. Needless to say, the sight of King Kong and George the Gorilla grappling with Godzilla had convinced them about the urgency of the situation (that, and the collapsed buildings, the stormy sky, and the numerous rifts were a big clue), the Ape Titans were more convinced than ever to help.

Of course, there had been a few false alarms.

The first rift they had gone through had led them to a Jump City in the midst of a riot. Riots about the lack of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches. Needless to say, they immediately left.

The second rift took them to Apokolips. You know what happened there.

The third rift dropped them in the rainforests of Brazil (where Beast, having been nearly cooked by the fires of Apokolips, decided to go swimming in the Amazon. You know what happened there.).

Now they had fallen into another Jump City…albeit one that had had a Gotham City makeover. It was twilight, and everything was quiet. Oh, and it was quite dark.

Prime sniffed the air apprehensively as he slipped some infrared lenses into his eye mask. "It's dark. Shouldn't there be lights at this time at night?"

"Not only that…but there are no cars." Cyborg looked around apprehensively. "This place is dead."

Raven's frown deepened. This place didn't feel right. And why did she feel the presence of anger…?

"**YOU."**

Raven gazed upwards as a pink-haired person with pale skin jumped her. The empath yelped as she was tackled to the ground, caught off-guard by the attack. "Get off!"

The pink-haired girl (she looked like Jinx) growled as her eyes blazed with pink energy. "After what you've done, FORGET IT."

Raven stared with utter shock, her mind reeling from the hatred radiating from 'Jinx' in droves. She couldn't even muster up a counter.

'Jinx' suddenly floated off of Raven, her body covered in a white aura. Mockingbird's eyes glowed as she held the pink-haired teen in place. "ENOUGH. She has done nothing to you."

"**_SHE'S DONE PLENTY!"_** roared 'Jinx' as she broke free from Mockingbird's aura with a burst of pink energy. Her hands glowed, synonymous with her anger. **"I'M GOING TO KILL HER."**

"Calm down Hex."

'Jinx' – apparently called 'Hex' – turned to face someone who looked like a human version of Victor Stone. He wore a gray muscle shirt and black pants, complete with black boots and white socks. His big head had a silver headband wrapped around it, and his wrists sported bracelets of silver. His dark eyes looked down at Hex in silence.

Hex snorted. "What do you mean? OUR ENEMY IS **RIGHT HERE.**"

"She's too young. Her outfit is from the old days. And for crying out loud, why would Raven be out here on her own and be caught off-guard as easily as she was?" He pointed at the Ape Titans. "And she has a whole bunch of monkeys with her!"

Soulfire helpfully said, "Technically, they are called 'gorillas'. Right Prime?" Prime nodded.

Hex stared at Soulfire. "…looks like Starfire…but she isn't…her outfit covers too much."

Raven sweatdropped. _I'd hate to see the outfit of this universe's Starfire. It might break the board rating._

**CRASH!**

The fourth wall broke further down the alleyway. Hex stared with astonishment as Victor Stone grinned. "And the Titans don't break the fourth wall anymore either."

Hex finally let go of her hatred and took a good look at Raven for the first time…and blinked out of astonishment. "You're…you're not her…"

"Glad you noticed," muttered Raven as she stood up, dusting herself off. She gazed at the 'Jinx' look-alike that Victor called 'Hex'. She wore a skintight bodysuit of black; judging by her more mature body, she was older than Jinx from Raven's timeline. Her hands were visible however, thus revealing her pale skin. Her face sported a diagonal scar across the left cheek, and her pink eyes hinted at a very bitter past (obviously involving an encounter with this timeline's Raven). Her pink hair was not tied into pigtails; rather, it was let down, reaching down to her neck. She also sported a small cape that went down to her waist, and it was colored dark violet. Finally, her bodysuit sported a pink 'H' over the sternum.

Raven said, "You called yourself Hex…Llarenes Morath?"

Hex nodded slowly.

Raven turned to the black human. "And Victor Stone?"

"That's me," replied Victor. Suddenly, all of his skin morphed into hard, dark gray rock, as tough as any mountain. His eyes turned pure white in color. "But you can call me by my codename: Stone."

"Imaginative," sarcastically replied Raven.

Stone smiled sadly. "Even your sense of humor is the same. You sure you're not a clone or something?"

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

Hex and Stone suddenly paled as they stumbled backwards, clutching their heads in apparent pain. Raven turned to her primate counterpart. "What did you do?"

"I made copies of my memories and put them into their minds; that way they know what the situation is without us wasting time by talking."

Raven smirked. "I think I'll have to try that out. It'll save on a lot of talking during meetings."

"You wouldn't believe how much time we usually spend in meetings until you don't have em' for a while." Cyborg pointed a furry thumb at Beast. "Ol' Beastie here fell asleep when we had a major team meeting."

"Not my fault if I got used to just getting a brain zap and knowing what the deal is," retorted Beast.

Stone rubbed his head, creating a scratchy sound as rock rubbed against rock. "Man…that's deep…"

Hex grimaced as she reached for her communicator. It looked like a regular Titans Communicator, save for the fact it was shaped like a hexagon and had an 'H' instead of a 'T'. "Goliath, this Hex, come in."

"**Hey. You find the source of that weird energy?"**

Prime smiled. _Interesting how things turn out to be parallel._

"Yeah…and something else. Bring the rest of the Hive Five…along with the Headmaster."

"**What! Are you serious? Is it that big a deal?"**

Stone poked his face into Hex's communicator. "Trust me man, it IS that big. Hurry."

"**Hmph. Fine."** The line was cut.

Raven felt no surprise when she realized the voice was an exact replica of Mammoth's. Considering the closeness of the two names (Mammoth and Goliath), the fact that the voices were similar wasn't a big shock. What did surprise was the fact that Jinx…er, HEX, had called the 'Hive Five'. Along with their Headmaster, whom the Titans had yet to meet (although they had been considering infiltrating the HIVE Academy for some time…and then the incident with Oblivion had occurred). Raven distracted herself by looking at the scar on Hex's cheek. "That scar. Did…I give it to you? This timeline's version, in any case?"

Hex's eyes narrowed. "…"

Stone calmly put an arm around the smaller girl. "You'll have to forgive her. What this reality's Raven did to her…let's just say her bodysuit covers the more horrible wounds."

Prime grimaced. "Sounds terrible. What happened in this timeline?"

Stone gazed at the sky. "In this world, the Justice Lords dominated everything with an iron fist. They decided politics and what was 'best' for us…just like Big Brother. They controlled the planet's militaries, police factions, and administrative systems. However, that ended when their counterparts from an alternate reality defeated them. I think they were called the Justice League."

Raven blinked. "That's…" She regained her composure. "I remember Robin telling me once about how Batman and the rest of the League fought alternate versions of themselves…they were called the Justice Lords."

Stone's eyes narrowed;he now realized that he was looking at the Raven from the League'sworld."What a coincidence. In any case, the Justice Lords were locked away here, and stripped of their powers by special holding devices. The human populace struck back against the metahuman teams that had aided the Justice Lords. The Teen Titans and the Outsiders were among them…I was with the Titans back then." The rocky metahuman clenched his fists tightly; he was feeling tremendous shame.

"What next?" asked Beast.

Hex spoke next. "The Teen Titans and the Outsiders both went into hiding…and after some time, they collaborated into freeing the Justice Lords…and instituting a stricter 'administration'."

Stone's eyes began to quiver. He was remembering something incredibly painful. "Our teammate…Gauntlet…he actually had the gall to disagree. Noel had always called him a black mark on the team…" Stone chuckled bitterly. "Called him unworthy of the Titans. Turns out he was more of a Titan than any of us…because he actually had the guts to notify someone of the impending breakout: the Headmaster of the HIVE."

Raven and the Ape Titans listened in silence.

"Needless to say, the Titans and the Outsiders broke the Justice Lords out…and to 'inaugurate the new era', they did away with Gauntlet…" Stone gritted his teeth. "…by executing him on a live broadcast to the world. Noel and Tim did the deed…and all I could do was watch…" Stone began to cry uncontrollably. "Damn it…Rob was the best of us…how come he had to die for doing the right thing…?"

Hex calmly placed a hand on Stone's face. "Sssh…it's okay Vic. Don't cry."

As Stone wiped away his tears, Raven arched an eyebrow. _Hmm. Victor Stone and Llarenes Morath…if that happens in my world, THAT'LL be the day._

(Careful what you wish for.)

"In any case, the Justice Lords' return to power was immediate," continued Stone. "It had been less than two years since their imprisonment, and the world's governments were nowhere near rehabilitated enough to retaliate. In return for helping them escape, the Titans and Outsiders were given two citiesby the Justice Lords to administer personally; the Titans got Jump City, while the latter got Bludhaven."

Cyborg looked up. "I take it we're IN Jump City?"

Hex nodded. "The Titans have a strict curfew of 8:00 PM. No cars or people on the streets, under penalty of death. Our patrols have to be done on very specific routes because of the constant watching by the Titans' surveillance systems."

"Speaking of which, how are you here?" asked Beast. "I mean, Stone's here; he's a Titan, right?"

"WAS a Titan," growled Stone. "The Titans' first act as 'administrators' was to find all metahumans within the city and either discipline them or exterminate them if they refused to join them. Thanks to Gauntlet's warning, the HIVE Headmaster managed to save a good portion of the city's meta population before the Titans came to power."

Hex's lip quivered as a horrific memory returned. "I wasn't one of those protected…after all, I was a bank robber. Raven was the one designated to me…but she didn't kill me quickly. She was SLOW." Hex scowled, her anger flaring up again. "Her mind…subjected me to horrible things…demonic things…horrible…" She clutched her head, her angry tone being replaced by one of fear. "Make it go away…those eyes…four demon eyes…GO AWAY…"

Stone protectively embraced the frail girl. "Calm down Hex. It's just a memory."

Mockingbird felt a great deal of pity for the two…but she sensed even greater shame from Raven. After all, in another time, through other decisions, she had given in to the evil within and tortured others with her demonic birthright. Who likes being told they were a sadist? Raven cleared her throat. "Then what?"

Stone frowned. "That's when I left the Titans. I couldn't take it anymore…the hypocrisy. We called ourselves the ones who were right…but when I saw what Raven did to Llarenes, I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. I broke into the cells, took Hex, and escaped the Tower. The HIVE found me before the Titans could catch up, and we joined them."

"Dude, this is crazy…" Beast scratched his head irritably. "What's with the HIVE? In our world, they're the bad guys!"

"Indeed," remarked Soulfire. "In our timeline, the HIVE is an organization dedicated to Grodd and his regime. They are most unpleasant."

Stone snorted. "Then you've never met our HIVE."

A manhole suddenly opened in the street. The first one out was a giant of a man – easily six-and-a-half feet tall – who was an absolute muscleman; he was obviously the one known as Goliath. A red shirt and red pants covered his husky frame. His feet were visible, showing brown fur. His thick, bare arms were covered by a metallic endoskeleton; apparently for more durability and harder blows. His head was largely similar to that of Mammoth's, save that his long orange hair was closely cut, and his beard was slightly longer. A black G was embroidered on his shirt. "So what's the deal Hex?" He immediately saw. "Wha…what the?"

"Move it snotbrain! Titan patrol units might be out!" The immature voice OBVIOUSLY belonged to Gizmo (this timeline's version of him, anyway). What surprised Raven was that what came out was a highly developed exoskeleton of nanobots. The current form the exoskeleton took was one of a human skeletal system, save for the fact that 'bones were thicker and less curved in shape. Also, there was no skull, and instead of a heart and lungs in the ribcage, there was a simple glass dome (well, it was actually a transparent polymer alloy that was harder than diamond, and a mere inch of thickness was the equivalent of 100 feet of titanium). In that dome was a liquid solution…and in that solution was a head connected to various wires. The head of Gizmo. The tyke looked ahead and blanched. "HEY! What the heck is a crudmunching Titan like Raven doing here? And what's with the monkeys?"

Cyborg leaned towards Beast. "At least some things don't change." The latter snickered. "No kidding."

Hex hissed, "Keep it DOWN Techno. You want to alert the whole city?"

Techno – this reality's Gizmo – grumbled as he came out of the manhole, followed by someone else. This person was easily older than the other HIVE members by at least ten years; his entire body was covered by a dark green uniform from head to toe, save for his mouth. The uniform hardened into thick, black rubber soles on his feet, for traction and support. A number of pouches lined his legs, in which sat explosive devices, flying discs, smoke bombs, gas grenades, flashers, and other assorted gadgets. Holstered to his hips were two laser blasters…and strapped to his back were nunchucks. And these nunchucks were thick metal rods linked together by a chain of pure steel. His uniform obtained a lighter color of green (almost lime) around the thighs, torso, and right arm. His eyes were covered by protective goggles, which were yellow in color. Finally, he sported a white shield insignia on his chest. "Just calm down Techno. Or you'll overload your suit'snanites again."

Raven paled at the sound of that voice. Coupled with the similar appearance (albeit a different color scheme), she knew who he was the counterpart of: the Ravager, son of Slade Wilson. "Who…are you?"

"My name is Sentinel. I was the first one to pass the final exams of the HIVE. I've remained behind ever since to serve as the team leader of the HIVE's special combat team, the Hive Five." Sentinel turned towards the manhole. "Sir, come on up."

Beast transformed into a hummingbird and floated in the air, trying to get a better look. "So…who exactly is the Headmaster?"

Hex smiled. "Someone with great skill…and considering what the HIVE is, he's got the character to back it up."

Raven stepped forward alongside Hex. "What does HIVE mean?"

Stone crossed his arms. "It means something that the Titans used topersonify. HIVE stands for the **H**igh **I**nstitute of **V**irtuous **E**xcellence…and the Headmaster fits the bill."

When the final person climbed out of the sewer tunnels, Raven nearly had a heart attack.

The outfit was different; his body colors were dark blue, with the torso, forearms, and legs protected by blue, chain mail armor, the kind you'd often see on a medieval knight (except medieval knights did not have chain mail made of promethium). An AK-47 was strapped to his back, along with an M79 grenade launcher. Strapped along his chest were explosive grenades for the M79, and his belt was lined with pouches full of banana clips, fragmentation grenades, and shuriken. Tethered to his back was a sharp katana inside a black sheath. He wore orange gloves, orange shorts, and orange boots. However…the linking aspect was the mask.

Although it seemed to be made of cloth instead of metal, the design was unmistakable. Half colors, separated down the middle. Black on the right side. Orange on the left. His lone eye on the left side. An eye that was glaring at her.

Slade Wilson.

Raven sputtered, "Deathstroke the Terminator is the HIVE Headmaster…?"

The half-blind soldier chuckled. "I'm afraid you are mistaken." The cold, ruthless voice was so eerily similar. "I created the HIVE to empower metahumans who 'disagreed' with the totalitarian regime that these so-called 'heroes' constructed. They're the ones who've forgotten about true heroism…I'm here to help remind the next generation of what it really is. And that's why I am who I am…one who conquers those who try and cloak themselves in righteousness. I have no mercy for those…and when I face a foe, death is all that awaits." Although such speeches were not his modus operandi, this Slade was going to make it clear to Raven how things worked (and to be honest, he didn't like her. Then again, she looked like one of his mortal enemies). "I am Deathknell the Conqueror. And unless you start talking about why you're here…" He leaned in close, glaring at Raven with his one eye. "I'm going to simply kill you. Take no chances."

Raven could only stare at Deathknell with some vehemence. "Goodness. Even when you're the good guy I don't like you." She turned to Mockingbird. "Same as before."

Mockingbird's eyes glowed white.

xxxx

In the bay, on the island where Titans Tower sat in ruins, Larry the Titan remained, watching from afar.

Needless to say, he so dearly wished that he could help. But he couldn't, his magic finger wasn't so magic anymore. Without it, he was helpless. "Oh…I wanna help!" Cheerleading had gotten boring.

So all Ekard Mit could do was watch as Jump City slowly fell apart from the forces of the white rifts (along with whatever came from them). "Man…I wanna help." He began pounding the ground. "I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I-"

BZZT.

"-WANNA I WANNA!" Larry suddenly realized he was standing up. And he was all wet. And he was at the Jump City docks. And that it was night.

Larry blinked. "Uh…how'd I get over here?" Apparently, he had swam across the bay to the city.

He then looked to his right.

A Persian hissed. "Mroooow…"

Larry sweatdropped. "Uh…nice kitty?"

"MREEEOW!"

"WAAAAAAH!" yelped Larry as he ran as fast as his little legs could take him, fleeing as fast as he could from the Pokemon.

However, what he didn't notice was that several Sladebots were entering a rift…and then coming out anywhere from ten minutes to a half-hour later, carrying stolen technology with them.

You could probably guess why.

For outside Jump City, Deathstroke the Terminator watched his screens with vested interest. The Titans and the Justice League had been so preoccupied with everything happening in the city that his legions of Sladebots were able to work together in small units without any problem. Aside from some minor threats that arose from other timelines, his robots were able to enter these rifts and return with samples of otherdimensional technology.

Deathstroke smiled. There was no telling what gains he would make by day's end.

The time skips were getting annoying though.

xxxx

A rift opened.

Out came three separate groups.

Raven.

The Ape Titans.

The Hive Five, along with the HIVE Headmaster: Deathknell the Conqueror.

Techno muttered as his nanite suit shifted, as if displaying his agitation. "Stupid barfin' EMP field. Nearly fried my suit!"

"Can't blame Raven if we ended up in the Matrix." That had been the last world they had visited. They had immediately left when a human hovercraft had fired an EMP burst. "Besides, don't your nanites have safeguards?"

"To conserve energy, the safeguards aren't on 24/7. Who do you think I am? An idiot?" Techno snorted.

Stone sighed. "I hate these arguments."

"ENOUGH." Deathknell's command shut Techno up completely. "We are on a mission of utmost importance. Now shape up."

"Yes sir!" The Hive Five responded in unison.

Prime nodded. "Not bad."

Raven gazed at Deathknell oddly. "Pardon me for saying so, but I don't think you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart."

"A chance to save the city is enough of a reason…but true, I have an ulterior motive." Slade pointed at the right side of his face. "Noel Collins took my eye. Oblivion may not be the real deal, but it'll be good for releasing all of this tension."

_Whatever you say_, thought Raven with a frown.

**CRASH!**

Everyone impulsively gathered into battle positions as a winged creature – seemingly more like a monarch butterfly, except with a more humanoid body. The black, insectoid face of the creature twitched as the beast moaned painfully. "But…I'm so beautiful…" The flesh of the beast slagged away, melting to the ground. All that was left was a female redhead with a rather attractive figure.

"That's another Id down," commented a blonde man with white angelic wings and a white robes. "Vanity…a fitting name for Samantha Cummings. But geez…who'd have thought the Homecoming Queen would be so insecure?"

"You can never tell with first impressions," commented this reality's Raven. Her entire body was covered with black armor from head to toe, the most conspicuous part being the metallic wings and the helmet, which was shaped like a raven's head. The armor was slim, yet angular, giving her an otherworldly appearance. This was the Nevermore armor.

"Then I guess your first impression of me must've been crummy if I'm so awesome," cracked this reality's Beast Boy. He wore segmented green armor over his entire body, which became thicker around the shins, arms, and chest. His entire head was covered a by mechanical duplicate of a lion's face. The lion's eyes were colored yellow, while Beast Boy actually saw through a shield of glass in the lion's open maw. This was the King of Beasts armor.

"Actually, you're just crummy," jokingly retorted Cyborg, whose entire body was covered with gold. His battle suit was not bulky or segmented; it was smooth and uniform, making it seem as if he were a golden human instead of a cyborg. His form was gender-neutral, with the only suggestion to his male characteristics being the broad chest and muscular frame of the armor. The only human parts remaining were his face and shortly cropped hair. This was the Omegadrone armor.

"Robin, are you okay?" asked Starfire. Her body was not changed that much; her tank top and skirt were now armored, and her shins and arms were protected by extremely thick metal of violet color. She also sported a helmet, which fit her head perfectly, forming an M-shaped visor through she could see. This was the Tamaranean Battle armor.

"I'm just fine Star," replied Robin, who wore jet-black armor like Raven. Unlike Raven, his armor was more smooth than angular, and it was more humanoid in nature. The motif was black (even the large visor was black). The only exception was a red mark that ran down from the shoulder to the back…as if representing a scar…this was the Redbird armor.

The angel suddenly flashed and returned to his normal state. If one would accurately describe him, it would be 'short, blonde copy of Napoleon Dynamite without glasses'. His white T-shirt had the word 'Creator' on the back, and a strange helmet adorned his head; it was pure white, complete with a red visor. If one examined the inside, you'd find intricate technologies far more advanced than anything mankind had to offer by at least five thousand years (give or take a two). His name was Timothy Trevor, the Imagiknight. "Well, I suppose we should clean up."

"That'll have to wait."

The six warriors turned, facing the large group ahead of them. They saw humans, gorillas, and metas in one go.

Timothy Trevor suddenly asked, "So…how exactly did we not see you when you were standing right there?"

Raven shrugged. "Coincidence."

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

xxxx

BZZT.

Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Cyborg were moving along at a brisk pace through the downtown section of the city. All around them, things were getting worse. As was the time.

John Stewart grimaced. "These time skips are starting to get irritating."

"It only seems like it's been a few hours, yet our bodies are feeling the toil of a whole day of fighting," remarked Wonder Woman as she dove below a rift that had just opened in midair. "For all we know, the next time skip will send us to tomorrow, or maybe two days from now. By then, we'll all be too tired to do anything."

Cyborg grumbled. "Man, I sure hope not. Cy doesn't fight well without his sleep!"

Superman smiled at Cyborg's attempts to lighten the move. "Don't we-"

BZZT.

"-all." Superman suddenly blinked; a Tamaranean carrying a blonde and a green boy was flying right toward him. Total distance? Five feet. Possibility to dodge? Try next to zero.

**_CONK!_**

Or for that matter, negative infinity.

Kal-El grimaced as he rubbed his head. Starfire yelped as she was sent backwards from the blow, falling to the ground.

Wonder Woman caught them. "I have you."

"Thank you," woozily replied Starfire as she was put down on the ground. Beast Boy dusted himself off while Terra kept a hand on her wound. "Yo, Cyborg! You have any bandages? Or maybe a painkiller?"

A small needle came out of a slot in Cyborg's right arm. "Last one, so make it count. Hold still."

Terra grimaced as the anesthetic was injected into the skin near her shoulder. "Man…we need to get a medic or something."

"Don't I know it," replied Cyborg.

(Jedi-And is dealing with your request at the moment.)

"There," said Cyborg as he removed the needle.

Terra flexed her shoulder tentatively. It was already numb. "Thanks Cy-guy."

"Don't mention it."

"So we're all here," said Flash with a frown as he looked around the city. "Can't believe it's already night."

Starfire shook her head. "There is still Robin who has not yet been found. We have been searching for him!"

Green Lantern said, "Have you tried your communicators?"

"Yeah," muttered Beast Boy as he pulled another microphone out of his mouth (stupid media…). "Bleh…anyhow, he won't respond."

Superman frowned. "We'd better-"

BZZT.

"-hurry then."

Another time skip.

All of a sudden, Starfire shrieked. "**EEEK!** Hurry everyone, hide in the alley!"

Not taking time to argue, everyone charged into the alley. Moments later, they poked around the corner, staring at the street. "Look over there," muttered Koriand'r.

They saw a pack of wolves; well over a hundred of them. They were facing a little white bunny.

"…you've GOTTA be joking," said Flash.

Starfire shook her head. "It looks exactly like a Klumach Forthgror, one of the great beasts of the planet Omnicron Persiren 7!" And in the back of Beast Boy's head, he was wondering why that sounded so familiar. "We must not anger it."

"Come on Starfire," grumbled Green Lantern as the wolves pounced. "It's a rabbit. What could it possibly-"

BZZT.

"-do?" Green Lantern immediately retracted his words.

Now the little bunny stood atop a mountain of bones, its little mouth smeared with blood. And yet it continued to look like a cute, little bunny.

_I wonder if I can change into that whatever it is_, thought Garfield Logan with an inquisitive look.

Terra immediately said, "I vote we keep searching for Robin."

"AGREED," replied everyone as they took off away from the Klumach Forthgror.

xxxx

A rift opened up. Raven came first, followed by the Ape Titans, the Hive Five, and Timothy's Titans.

Everyone looked down. "Uh…why is the sky on the ground?" asked 'King of Beasts' Boy.

Then they realized they had come out…upside-down.

And now that they've realized it, they will now fall.

"WHAAAA!"

Raven, Mockingbird, Soulfire, Techno (whose suit shifted to include a propeller for levitation), Nevermore Raven, and 'Battle Armor' Starfire were the only ones who didn't fall.

The others crashed on the ground. Prime, Sentinel, Deathknell, Hex, and Redbird Robin were the only ones who landed on their feet. Prime caught Timothy Trevor and set him down on the ground. "Well…that was unpleasant," muttered Timothy as he looked around. It looked like Jump City…except very shiny. Rows of gleaming spires, one after another. "Did Brainiac 13 attack this place or something?"

"That's exactly we wondered when we came here," said Raven. And she was in deep thought…because she knew this place was the home to the metahuman that had called herself 'Myth'. The one that, in this timeline, was her daughter.

Speaking of daughters…

A hand suddenly wriggled out of the pile of metahumans. "GET…**OFF!**"

Everyone finally picked up the pace, and they saw that they had landed on top of a girl. A teenager, to be more precise. As she picked herself up, her uniform could be seen. Her white hair was shaved completely on the right side, with the left side hanging down over her left eye. A ring was pierced through her right eyebrow, and her eyes were colored light purple. She wore a long, white leather trench coat, along with a black shirt and black pants. She also wore black boots, complete with black, fingerless gloves (apparently, opposite colors was the theme). She glared at the entire group, yelling, **_"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS?"_**

"You know the drill Mockingbird," said Prime.

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

And then the memories of Raven's story and her meetings with the Ape Titans, the Hive Five, and Trevor's Titans…and of Oblivion…

The daughter of Savior and Raven paled as she stared at the massive group assembled before her. "…you're kidding…"

"I wish I was," replied Raven.

Kyra Collins grimaced as she reached for her communicator. "Donar, this is Kyra."

"**Kyra? You find something on your patrol?"**

"You could say that. Bring the others here IMMEDIATELY."

"**We'll be there in a few."**

Kyra closed her communicator as she stared at Raven. It was eerie to look at her mother…except she wasn't her mother. "…huh. This is kind of strange."

"That's certainly an understatement," replied Raven as she lowered her hood. "So…in this timeline, you're my daughter with…?"

Kyra nodded.

Raven was silent. _So Noel and I did have a child in this timeline._ However, she had one question. "What's with the get-up?"

Kyra blinked. "Huh?"

"The outfit. A piercing in the eye? Half of your hair shaved? It's not exactly something I'd see Noel allowing."

Kyra chuckled; this Raven was as brutally honest as her mother. "My father gave me a bit of leeway as a kid."

"I see," remarked Raven, a sweatdrop on her head. _Noel? With leeway?_ The thought of it was amusing. "So…what are your abilities? Do you have your own Shimmer?"

"No…but I improvised. Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Chains suddenly slid out of her trench coat's sleeves, coated in black energy.

Techno blinked out of disbelief as his suit shifted to create a visual scanner, which zoomed in on the chains. "Oooh…unbelievable! Those chains are made of pure promethium! That stuff's cruddin' impossible to find!"

"Glad you like it," replied Kyra with a grin. "A gift from Superman!"

"Glad he's such a paragon of virtue in this world," muttered Deathknell, his tone indicating bitterness.

Kyra – having had the advantage of memories implanted into her by Mockingbird – knew about the Justice Lords and the Titans of Slade's world (the thought was odd to her; Slade Wilson being a good guy!). "What did he do to you? Take out your eye?"

Deathknell chuckled. "That was Savior's doing. Superman, in an attempt to force me to disband the HIVE, killed my wife." He almost seemed to delight in Kyra's shock. "And now you know. So I'd advise you not ask anymore questions."

Sentinel calm put a hand on Deathknell's shoulder. "Father. This world is not ours."

Slade narrowed his eyes as he stood at his full height. "You'll have to forgive me, young Collins. After all, I'm only human."

Kyra couldn't help but smile in defiance. "You know, my father always said that."

Deathknell narrowed his eye.

"Um…Kyra?"

Kyra turned around to see her teammates arriving on the scene. Raven gazed at them in silence.

The first one that caught her eye was a lanky teenage boy with neatly combed brown hair and goggles with special lenses (since he had to wear glasses to help see, these goggles served as his glasses in battle. Except they wouldn't fall off or break.). His slacks and blue shirt were hidden underneath a large white lab coat, its coattails coming to his ankles. It was latched together with black straps of velcro, and they matched his black rubber gloves. Although his coat's sleeves were long, they couldn't hide the metallic device on his wrists; each one had a small, vial-shaped hole. Hidden by his lab coat though, was a metallic vest that held dozens of vials. Most vials held a different chemical or element, although some were empty. The metallic vest was connected to his spinal cord, which allowed for mental control of the device (you see, during his battles, it had become clear that his mixing talents were often not fast enough…and they were incredibly fast to begin with. So with aid from Noel Collins and Victor Stone, he had constructed a vest that would not only hold vials for his chemicals, but it would also allow for him to mix them together with a thought. The concoction would then be put in an empty beaker and shoved out of the holes in his wrist devices. Thus, it was ready for use. It had been a lifesaver many times.). It was why he, at first glance, seemed bulkier than he really was. His name was Walt Rod. Codename: Beaker.

The second one was a man of six feet. His long, flowing hair was blonde, and when you factored in his white tank top and tight black pants, one would assume he was homosexual (which he wasn't. Although whether he knew how much he represented the homosexual stereotype was another matter altogether.). He had a muscular build, although he wasn't what you would call a 'bodybuilder'. His eyes were a clear blue color, yet they possessed a sense of wisdom and knowledge that seemed too old for him (although he was easily older than he at first appeared). He wore no shoes; they were too uncomfortable for him (plus, he was strong enough to the point his feet could endure walking on hot coals). To complete the ensemble, he wore a metal glove on his right hand, and a leather strap through a belt loop on his pants. A metal war hammer hung onto this strap; it was thick and heavy, and lined with Norse runes. It was none other than Mjolnir, the hammer of the God of Thunder. And the one who wielded it – Donar Magnison, son of Magni, son of Thor, son of Odin, of the house of Wotan – was its current owner. Codename: Donar (Yeah, his name was his codename).

The third one was of comparable size to Raven or Kyra. Her platinum blonde hair – tied in a ponytail – was of shoulder length, and her brown eyes held a degree of innocence (considering that she grew up on the streets, this was surprising) within them. She wore golden flare pants and a white shirt that said 'Light Up My Life' in green glitter. She was not busty, but nor was she a flat-chest; she would be what one called a natural beauty (as Donar will attest). Her name was Sierra Illescas. Codename: Razzle Dazzle, for she had mastery over light.

The fourth and final one was a giant of a man, bigger than even Goliath or the Ape Titans. Towering at eight feet, his muscular body seemed to say 'Hulk? Who's he?'. He wore a brown bomber jacket and custom blue jeans to fit his massive body. His head – covered with shortly cropped brown hair – was protected by a black infantryman's helmet. His bones were thick as well (his chin seemed to jut forward by at least six to eight inches), and his overall appearance made him seem nitwitted. Which he wasn't; he was actually quite intelligent, but his body made it hard to think clearly enough to speak concisely. He just took time to talk…and if you looked at his clear green eyes, you'd see that they glimmered with intelligence. His name was David Malone (before his operation, that is; now he just went by the name Brick). Codename: Brick Wall.

Beaker had been the one who had spoken. "Pardon my query, but why exactly are there gorillas, former adversaries of your parents, and armored counterparts of our predecessors?"

Kyra smiled. "Meet my team. Beaker, Donar, Razzle Dazzle, and Brick Wall."

"The new generation of Titans?" asked Raven.

A dark, almost painful look came to Kyra's eyes. "No…it's a long story that I won't go into. We aren't the Titans. We go by the name of UPYOURS."

"…what?" Raven blinked out of utter astonishment. "Don't you think that's a bit…'unorthodox'?"

"To say the least," said Redbird Robin.

"What's your codename?" asked Omegadrone Cyborg.

"Kyra Collins."

Razzle Dazzle exclaimed, "Uh…I thought it was Myth!"

Kyra groaned angrily. **"I THOUGHT I SAID THAT NAME IS VERBOTEN!"**

Raven sweatdropped. "What's wrong with Myth? And what about the whole 'secret identity' thing?"

"I HAVE no secret identity. I am who I am," retorted Kyra.

Donar said, "To be fair, I didn't know who you were when we first met."

Kyra nearly strangled Donar with her chains. And she ended up doing so anyway. Until Brick separated them.

Raven smacked her forehead. _Mockingbird, just give her teammates the info they need so we can get back._

_Gladly_, thought Mockingbird as her eyes glowed once again.

xxxx

Robin had trouble keeping his eyes open.

It was all of the time skips; he was feeling the toil and pain of actions he couldn't remember doing. His body did, however. And it was beginning to take its toll. He just wanted to rest…to sleep…

_NO._

Robin shook his head. He had no time to afford to be tired. Even though it was in the darkness of early morning, he refused to give into his body's commanding urges to sleep. All he could do was keep moving forward. To keep fighting. To keep-

He saw Sladebots.

The Sladebots – the 'Dots', the humanoid variety of robot – were walking out of a rift with a large piece of metal. Judging from the wires dangling from it, they had torn it out of whatever had been on the other side of that rift. Which meant one thing: stolen technology.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" roared Robin as he whipped out his bo staff and began his pursuit. The five Sladebots grabbed the large metallic object together and took cover in the nearest alleyway. The Teen Wonder grimaced as he poured on the speed; without worrying about any explosive discs, they might use a teleportation device like Slade had. _Can't let them get away!_

The Sladebots were suddenly sent flying out of the alleyway, their bodies eviscerated into little pieces.

Robin's mood became considerably better. _The others. I must've finally caught up with them!_ He turned the corner…and froze in his tracks.

Oblivion stared at him coldly. "Hello Fearless."

Robin paled; it was Oblivion. In the back of his mind, he wasn't surprised that Oblivion had attacked the Sladebots; in his current state of mind, anyone and everyone was an enemy. What surprised him was that he was called by his nickname of Fearless. Were Noel and Gauntlet's minds coming back to the forefront…?

No. That stare was too cold. It was simply Oblivion's psyche picking up on base traits and memories from the original minds that composed it. Which is what worried Robin; what if he had started picking up Savior's tactical prowess…?

"Raven once told me that she had to put a bit of herself into every spell she casts." Oblivion clenched his fists, resorting to Savior's own catchphrase. "I'd like to test that theory." Then his eyes glowed. "Azarath…"

Robin blinked. _What?_

"METRION…"

It finally occurred to him. The spell Raven had concocted earlier to free Noel and Robert. That had contained part of her energy…which meant, with Oblivion's abilities…that he had access to Raven's power. With one big difference.

"**ZINTHOS!"**

A far bigger power supply.

The bolt of black energy pressed against Robin and sent him flying backwards. "AAAAARGH!"

Oblivion calmly walked out of the alley, the Glimmer emerging from his wrists. His eyes glowed as Robin's uniform was shrouded in black energy. "Stay still."

Robin felt a raw chill go up his spine. Even though the Glimmer had a very long reach…the magical aura of Raven's that he now controlled had even longer range. With the added bonus that you couldn't see it coming.

Tim Drake could only stare as the golden terror towered over him, icy blue eyes staring at him like daggers.

And then Oblivion used the Glimmer to break Robin's index finger.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

xxxx

Raven and the tremendous amount of backup that she had gathered fell out of a rift. Beaker commented, "Pardon my saying so, but do you not think you have enough metahuman assistance for the confrontation with Oblivion?"

"One more group," commented Raven. To be honest, she wasn't truthfully sure if all the help she HAD gathered would be enough. Then again, it had only taken the Teen Titans and Young Justice to stop the Lord of the Night. And that had been only 13 teenage metahumans. She had at least 23 seasoned heroes with her.

Cyborg the Gorilla gazed around. "Say. This place looks like it came from Leave it to Beaver."

Everyone looked around…and realized that the area they were in seemed kind of 'old-fashioned'. There was a strange kind of essence in the air….a more youthful, innocent vitality that was missing from the darkened cities of the Hive Five and the Ape Titans. Even the shining metropolis of UPYOURS' timeline had a dark core. This place possessed nothing of the sort.

All of a sudden, a red-haired police officer with a big nose walked out of a donut shop. He stared quietly at the assortment of teens, metahumans, and primates before him.

Then he gulped and shouted in an Irish accent. "Sweet petunias! The Injustice Guild must've conjured up an evil army of some sort! Better call the Justice Guild!" He immediately ran off for his squad car.

Gorilla Cyborg turned to Omegadrone Cyborg. "Did he just say the Justice Guild?"

"I think he did," muttered Beast.

Then KOB Beast Boy, Beast, Gorilla Cyborg, and Omegadrone Cyborg immediately huddled together.

The armored 'King of Beasts' asked, "So, do you guys have the original issue set?"

Beast grinned. "I've got the first volume, complete with a limited edition holofoil Issue #25: The Injustice Guild Appears!"

Gorilla Cyborg snorted. "I beat you both. I've got Issue #1!"

"DUDE," muttered both of the Changelings.

Omegadrone smiled. "I've got you ALL beat. I've got the limited-edition, golden cover Issue #0!"

The three stared at the golden Omegadrone Cyborg in awe. Gorilla Cyborg protested, "NO FAIR! They only printed 5,000 copies! It explained how the Justice Guild came to be and their secret origins to boot!"

Omegadrone grinned cockily. "Not my problem."

"**AWWWW,"** moaned both Beast and the 'King of Beasts'.

The Ape Titans and Trevor's Titans sweatdropped out of embarrassment.

Techno snickered. "Man, they're getting worked up over some snotty comic books."

Stone chuckled bitterly. "I would too, if I still had any. Left my collection at Titans Tower though." Hex clutched his hand for reassurance; the past was the past. No use feeling any regrets.

Goliath sniffed the air as he stared at the sky. "Hey, who's the green guy?"

Raven stared into the air…and found a white-haired man flying towards them. An azure cape with a large collar was affixed to his body by yellow buttons. He wore a long-sleeved light green shirt, which was tucked into black pants. A brown leather belt with a gold buckle was fastened around his waist, and he wore long, light green boots. He wore a large, dark green mask that covered his whole face from the forehead to just above the mouth. Yellow bracelets encompassed his wrists, and a yellow shield was emblazoned on his chest. A green ring of similar design to the shield design was on his right hand's index finger.

The ring was glowing, forming a bubble shield for his 'passenger'. The aforementioned passenger – who was a pretty muscular fellow – wore a long-sleeved yellow shirt and blue pants, complete with black underwear (kind of like how Superman wore red underwear). He wore black, pointed shoes, and his ankles and wrists both had two steel rings wrapped around them. He wore a brown built, which had a small, miniature turbine built into it instead of a buckle. His muscular face was similar in structure to Superman's, and his eyes were narrow to the point where it was hard to see them. His brown hair was neatly combed (again, looking similar to Superman's hairstyle. Did these two share the same fashion designer or something?), and a large, blue T was embroidered on his chest.

"They don't look happy to see us," commented Hex.

"Then again, neither were you," replied Prime. Hex glared at him momentarily. That is, until a third person arrived from the ground.

If the Flash were more muscular, he'd be like the person that just arrived in a burst of red. He wore a red, skintight bodysuit that covered his body from neck to ankle. He wore yellow shorts – buckled together by a black belt – over his waist, and he wore yellow shoes over his bare feet. His hands were also bare, though they were clenched into fists. He wore a red helmet – complete with large goggles – with a yellow stripe down the middle; it was made of a pure iron. To finish it off, he had a yellow lightning bolt symbol on his chest.

The first two set down beside the red man. The red man said, "Mind explaining why such a colorful cast of characters is here in Seaboard City?"

Omegadrone, Gorilla Cyborg, Beast, and the 'King of Beasts' nearly wet themselves. These three people were superheroes. Superheroes that had belonged in a fictional comic book…but their exploits were great nonetheless.

The Green Guardsman.

Tom Turbine.

And the Streak.

Members of the Justice Guild of America.

Raven glanced at Mockingbird.

Mockingbird's eyes glowed.

The three Justice Guild members wavered momentarily…and they stood tall again, staring at the ensemble of heroes gathered before them. Gathered for one purpose: to stop Oblivion.

The Streak walked forward and extended a hand. "Raven, was it? The Justice Guild will gladly assist you."

Raven smiled as she took the man's hand. "Thank you."

Tom Turbine stepped forward. "But we can't leave Seaboard City undefended."

"When I got the call from the police sergeant, I was assisting Cat Man and Black Siren with halting a bank robbery," replied the Streak. "I'll go tell them to remain here and protect the city while we help stop this Oblivion character." He took off in a streak of red.

The Green Guardsman looked at Raven's entire team. "Do you think this will all be enough?"

Raven turned around and gazed at all the superheroes she had managed to unite…to help someone they had never met before. Not only because of the severity of Oblivion's threat…but because they were willing to do so.

That was heroism.

The Ape Titans.

The Hive Five.

The Imagiknight's Titans.

UPYOURS.

And now, members of the Justice Guild of America.

Raven smiled. "I think we have enough."

xxxx

"_**AAAAAAAARGH!"**_

Oblivion enjoyed the screams for some reason.

Robin writhed as Oblivion snapped his right hand's pinky. "Please…stop…"

"No," remarked Oblivion. He didn't truly know why he was doing it. All he knew was that he was enjoying it. Probably because this little boy had fought him earlier. Yes…that was it. And if he was enjoying himself, there was no harm in it, right?

His concentration had lapsed, just for the moment. Robin slipped a hand to an explosive disc – ignoring the pain in his shattered fingers – and threw it at point-blank range. It slammed into Oblivion's face.

_**CHOOM!**_

Robin winced from the wave of heat that slammed into him. However, it had hit Oblivion far worse. His face was burned and bleeding from the explosion…but then his head glowed.

The flesh healed rapidly, and the wounds disappeared.

Robin cursed; Oblivion had just given himself super healing, if only for a moment. Then, his body began to lax; hope was beginning to abandon him. In the midst of a torn city that was falling under the weight of a shattering reality, he was alone with the enemy.

He didn't want to admit that two fellow Titans were about to kill him, no matter how much they had been corrupted. He was about to die at the hands of two Titans.

Oblivion snarled as he grabbed Robin by the neck with his right hand, lifting him into the air. The anger in his expression was palpable. "You…you keep trying to hurt me…you won't be doing it again."

Robin managed to choke out, "The others…will stop you…"

A flash of raw anger came to the fusion metahuman as he recalled the others that had hurt him earlier. "You think they'll be able to hold me back? You think they'll protect you?" hissed Oblivion. "You can't stop me. I'll NEVER stop. And for trying, I'll tear you apart molecule by molecule and memory by memory until there's nothing left of you but screaming, traumatized **_ATOMS_**."

A hand grabbed his wrist, causing him to release Robin.

Oblivion turned to see Wonder Woman. "You can try." Then the warrior of Themyscira punched him in the face.

Oblivion met a building head on, and it collapsed upon him.

Robin grimaced as he got to his feet; the Justice League and the Titans had regrouped at last. Starfire worryingly floated over to Robin. "Robin! Are you okay?"

The Teen Wonder muttered, "Only my fingers got hurt…but his power's just too much."

"Come on Fearless, don't give up now," remarked Cyborg as his metallic feet crunched the debris under his feet. "We've gone through worse before. We'll come back on top."

"Not unless we get some backup," muttered Green Lantern. "Where's your friend Raven anyway? She hasn't even gotten back yet!"

"You called?"

The Titans and the Justice League turned…and gaped in shock. Raven had over two dozen warriors behind her, all surveying the damage.

"It's worse than I thought," muttered Prime.

"No kidding," remarked Razzle Dazzle as her skin shivered. The energy that had infiltrated the air throughout the entire city – and only now beginning to spread outside to the sea and countryside – was of a distinctly chilling persuasion. It was powerful, yet had no alignment. Neither light nor dark. Probably because Oblivion was not evil, nor was he good. He was a being of chaos, a living force that existed only to destroy.

However, judging by what he had just done to Robin, the consciousness of the fused warrior was beginning to adapt to the emotions of the two minds it spawned from. And if things kept on like they were, Oblivion would transform from a being of chaos to a being of darkness.

They couldn't let that happen.

And judging from all the people Raven had brought, there was still a fighting chance.

Of course, the various Beast Boys and Cyborgs were all staring off in one direction.

Omegadrone blinked. "There's no way."

"YES way," retorted Gorilla Cyborg.

"An army of ninjas?" said Beast Boy.

"AND an army of pirates?" said the 'King of Beasts' out of awe.

Cyborg grinned with excitement. "Oh man, that is the coolest battle EVER."

"You said it," replied Beast out of concurrence.

Stone stared at the group from afar. "Wish I could joke like that," muttered the rocky metahuman, his eyes becoming downcast.

Techno snorted. "Man, quit the snotty angst act. It's worn itself out."

"Just shut up Mikron," grumbled Hex, her eyes momentarily flashing. Techno promptly fell to his feet as a brick fell on him from above (they were standing right next to a building on the verge of collapse, FYI). The mistress of bad luck grinned at Techno's curses.

And all the while, Tara Markov wondered why there were no alternate versions of herself. Perhaps it was because she had already died in each reality the various superhero teams came from (save for the world of UPYOURS and the Guild; the former because she wasn't even in UPYOURS, and the latter because it was set in the 1940s, before she was even born). But why let her know and scar her?

Meanwhile, Starfire, Soulfire, and 'Battle Armor' Starfire floated over to each other.

Starfire gazed at Soulfire. "Why are you wearing a swimsuit?"

Soulfire asked 'Battle Armor' Starfire, "Why are you wearing such strange armor?"

'Battle Armor' Starfire remarked, "You have no eyes!"

"And yet you do!" astonishingly retorted Soulfire.

"And you have a belly button!" exclaimed Starfire.

"But you do not!" yelled Soulfire.

"Oooh…" muttered all three Tamaraneans, quiteeasily fascinated by the changes in their alternate selves.

Prime chuckled as he turned to Robin. "At least something's don't change…" His deep eyes suddenly looked sorrowful. "It's a shame…I've almost forgotten what my human body was like. Seeing you is like looking in an old mirror."

Robin was silent as he walked slowly, surveying the various people Raven had brought. _Simian versions of ourselves…and the Titans from Timothy Trevor's world._ He still remembered the Imaginknight and his tale of the struggle against Weltall.

Robin paused at the Hive Five. _The HIVE…?_ He gazed at Stone. The metahuman averted his gaze. The Teen Wonder, though slightly confused, walked on…and paused a few steps later. His hair stood on end. "Slade."

"I am not the Deathstroke of this timeline, Robin." He leaned down and gazed intently into Robin's eyes. The Teen Wonder stood tall, not backing down from the gaze of Deathknell.

The HIVE Headmaster stood back, seemingly content with what he saw. "You still have the spark of heroism. Don't lose it like your counterpart in my world did."

Robin nearly disregarded the advice simply because it was advice from Slade. Yet he acknowledged it with a simple glance; it was good advice nevertheless.

He looked at UPYOURS (he too arched an eyebrow when he learned of their team name) and the Justice Guild as well. Finally, he returned to his reality's Raven saying, "Glad you made it back. Even though it took a while."

"That's something I've been meaning to ask." Raven looked up at the sky. It was early morning, and the sky was slowly brightening as the sun began to rise (though the rifts all over the place provided plenty of light). "I was only gone for a couple of hours at the most. Why did so much time pass here?"

"Time is skipping forward," answered the Flash. "The place has gone absolutely loco." He looked around. "Hey, where's GL?"

Green Lantern was floating in front of the Green Guardsman, who was looking back with some measure of confusion. "…do you know me?"

"…an alternate version of you," remarked John Stewart, as he recalled his first meeting with the Justice Guild. As it had turned out, the Guild had only been illusions conjured by an angry young child. Yet it had been real to John. "I fought alongside him in battle. A good man."

Scott Mason – the Green Guardsman – smiled. "Well, if you were an ally of another version of me, that's good enough. I'll be glad to fight alongside you once again, if that makes any sense."

Green Lantern smiled as he shook his head. "Of course."

"So…what now?" asked Trevor as he muttered 'Electrowheel' and vanished in a flash. When it faded, a muscular male of six feet remained. His body was covered by a slim exoskeleton made of blue metal, which counteracted with his yellow bodysuit. His feet stood upon skates with spherical wheels (thus allowing for total control over his movement), and his arms crackled with electricity.

"We let Robin decide."

Everyone gazed at Superman. "This is the Titans' city. And he's their leader. He's in charge."

Robin couldn't help but feel slightly in awe; Superman still had faith in him. He already knew his teammates still had faith in him as well. "Alright then…first I'll need a roll call."

Robin listened to all the names…and found he had some issues with a few. Particularly, the multiple versions of a few Titans. He gazed at 'Battle Armor' Starfire. "Um…Starfire?"

"Yes?" replied both at once.

"Not you Kory, the one in armor."

"Oh, my apologies." Starfire floated away. 'Battle Armor' Starfire asked, "Yes?"

Robin said, "Well…I don't want to have a name mix-up in the middle of battle. Think a name change for the time being would be okay? Like…Sunfire or something?"

The armored Tamaranean giggled with glee. "That was my mother's name! I will gladly accept it!"

…_okay, that was easy._ Robin turned to the three Cyborgs. He gazed at the golden Cyborg. "You can simply be Omegadrone."

"No complaints."

He then looked at the cybernetically-enhanced gorilla. "Hmm…well, you are a gorilla…maybe just CyGor?"

"CyGor eh? Sure." The gorilla immediately opened his mouth and roared humorously. "I AM CY-GORE! BLOOD AND GORE! BLOOD AND GORE! **_BLARGLEBLARGLEBLARGLE!_**"

The Cyborg and Beast Boy variants laughed.

Robin turned to the Beast Boy multiples. "Beast is already okay…I think I'll just you 'King', after your army."

The armored Beast Boy grinned. "Works for me!"

"Better yet, how about KOB Boy?" CyGor whooped, "Yo, KOB Boy! Got any corn? I already ate all of mine!"

The Cyborg and Beast Boy variants laughed again. Save for 'KOB Boy', who merely fumed. "It's not THAT funny…"

"Quiet guys," muttered Redbird (the Robin of Trevor's world was content to calling himself Redbird – after his armor – until Oblivion was dealt with. Same thing with his timeline's Raven, who would call herself Nevermore.), his black armor slowly becoming more visible in the early morning light.

Robin sighed as he stared at the massive gathering of heroes before him. All united for a single purpose. Perhaps that was one of the greatest strengths of humanity; for people of differing ideals and backgrounds to bind together under the duress of horrible strife.

And Oblivion had certainly caused strife.

"A crisis has befallen Jump City," said Robin aloud, ignoring the pain in his fingers; Raven was already healing them (for she had no need to use her fingers in battle). "Due to the intervention of a madman called Deathstroke the Terminator, two of our teammates were fused together. They became a being with unbelievable power…and that power suppressed their minds, giving birth to a new consciousness that called itself Oblivion. At first, he was a pure force of chaos, destroying because he had no choice. But now, Oblivion is starting to come to terms with his raw emotions…and if he manages to calm himself down on a mental level, our chances of winning will plummet. His powers in the hands of a calm warrior would not be a pretty sight…so there's only one solution." He cracked his knuckles, momentarily relishing in the feel of unbroken fingers (he'd have to thank Raven later). "We charge en masse. We overwhelm him. We grind him into the ground. Hopefully, we'll incapacitate him long enough to find a way to split him apart. Is that understood?"

No one said a thing.

That is, until Myth (Robin had politely asked for her to use codenames, at least for the time being. She could live with it) grinned wickedly. "So basically, we just kick ass?"

Robin nodded with a smile. "Lots of it."

xxxx

Oblivion snarled as he punched his way out of the rubble.

Those irritating rats. They were going to be torn apart…and he would do it with his BARE HANDS.

He pulled himself out and glared at the Titans…but then he blanched at what he saw.

A red sun was rising above the hill of rubble the heroes stood on. A red sun for a bloody day.

Gathered before the super-powered teen were seven teams of superheroes.

The Teen Titans: Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Terra.

The Justice League: Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern.

The Ape Titans: Prime, Soulfire, CyGor, Beast, and Mockingbird.

The Hive Five: Hex, Stone, Goliath, Techno, Sentinel, and Deathknell the Conqueror.

The Imagiknight's Titans: Redbird, Sunfire, Omegadrone, King (or KOB Boy, if you prefer), Nevermore, and Timothy Trevor's current form of Electrowheel.

UPYOURS: Myth, Beaker, Donar, Razzle Dazzle, and Brick Wall.

The Justice Guild: The Streak, Tom Turbine, and Green Guardsman.

A grand total of 35 superheroes had gathered to face him this morning.

As eerie as it seemed, the trumpet of horns sounded through the air (most likely from a nearby rift) as the respective leaders of each team yelled.

"Titans, CHARGE!" roared Prime.

"HIVE, forward!" commanded Deathknell.

"Titans, ATTACK!" yelled Electrowheel.

"LET JUSTICE PREVAIL!" cried the three Guild members.

"UPYOURS, HO!" shouted Myth.

There was momentary silence as everyone turned to face Kyra Collins. Beaker coughed, "Um…you DO realize what you just said? Up. Yours. Ho. Understand?"

"I DON'T NEED THE UNCOMFORTABLE MENTAL IMAGE. **JUST ATTACK!**" shrieked Myth.

Robin whipped out his bo staff. "Justice League…Titans…"

Oblivion permitted himself to swear. As it turned out, the censorship spell was still in effect. "Matriarch fornicating feces."

"_**GO!"**_

The fists of the Flash and the Streak slammed into Oblivion's face.

And the rest charged.

xxxx

Within his hideaway, Slade watched with vested interest. His robotic drones had already gathered several hundred pounds of technological material and teleported back to his lair (to be honest, it was kind of a boon that the time skips were here; it made the wait seem shorter). He was sure to gain some knowledge from what he had attained.

However, it was the rifts themselves that had his interest…particularly, a group of rifts near downtown that were clustered together in close proximity. His scanners were picking up large amounts of particles of foreign origin (which was almost always a case for dimensional rifts). The clincher for Slade was the fact that as more rifts appeared in that cluster…the greater the concentration of chronotons. Raw time particles…the quantum of time itself.

It had been hard enough to find enough chronoton molecules for his Chronoton Destabilizer. Those rifts were now spewing forth enough chronotons to power a hundred of them.

The sheer amount intrigued him…because they hinted at a possibility that even he felt was too good to be true. Even HE wasn't that lucky.

Still…

He issued a command to all available robots and servants. He wanted them to gather at that spot. He would be there, waiting for them.

Slade Wilson smiled behind his metallic mask; things were going very well for him.

xxxx

The two speedsters cut away as the onslaught began.

Superman's heat vision. Green Lantern's energy beams. Laser vision and Starbolts from Starfire, Soulfire, and Sunfire. Sonic blasts from Omegadrone, CyGor, and Cyborg. Electrical bolts from Donar, Electrowheel, and Techno (who had formed an electric gun out of his nano-suit). Psychic blasts from Raven, Nevermore, and Mockingbird.

The torrent of energy lashed against Oblivion with enough force to level a whole city. He managed to make it through still standing, albeit damaged in a visible way for the first time in a while (heavily burned skin and damaged armor). Nevertheless, it was already healing.

Then Wonder Woman's golden lasso wrapped around Oblivion. She swung around in circles, slowly going faster and faster – Oblivion was getting DIZZY – before she let go. The fused Titan went high into the sky…where Green Guardsman was waiting.

His ring shot forth a glove made of green energy, which he used to smack Oblivion back down into the ground. The golden teen shook his head as he got to his feet.

"Perhaps you haven't heard…"

Oblivion looked up to see Tom Turbine. His namesake – the turbine – was spinning inside his belt; as a result, electrical energy built up in the conductive bracelets around his wrists. "But in Jump City…crime doesn't pay."

Two electrically charged punches slammed into his chest, sending him into the air. And it wasn't surprising; Tom Turbine, when fully charged by his energy belt, was almost capable of Superman-level strength.

Oblivion could only grunt as his body went numb from the shock. He didn't even have time to heal himself before Goliath caught him. The mammoth of a man (pun intended) grinned. "Hey there." He then slammed Oblivion into the ground with a mighty heave.

Stone was immediately there, landing atop Oblivion with his rock-hard knee. The fused Titan gagged as Stone grabbed his feet and swung him around, building up momentum before releasing him.

Oblivion crashed into a building. Hex calmly stood in front of it, even as her eyes glowed pink. "You shouldn't be playing here. This place is scheduled for demolition."

Then the foundations – weakened by Hex's powers – collapsed, and the building fell on Oblivion like a stack of cards. The impish girl smiled. "Just a case of bad luck."

Then the building's remains exploded as a myriad of Glimmer lines slashed through the rubble. Oblivion roared out of sheer fury as he stood, glaring with absolute hatred at Hex. "YOU **DIE.**" A Glimmer strand shot at her, ready to lodge itself in her brain.

_Whackwhack-whack-whackwhack-whack-WHACKWHACKWHACKWHACKWHACK!_

Oblivion's brain suddenly felt multiple concussions as Sentinel dashed in front of him and swung his nunchaku around. The metal rods slammed into the teen's face over and over again, even as he tried to form a coherent thought. That's when Grant Wilson stopped his attack and pulled Oblivion behind him before elbowing him in the back of the neck.

Beaker stepped forward as a tube filled with a colorless liquid popped out into his left hand. He opened the vial and doused Oblivion with the liquid. Less than a moment later, Donar flew in from behind and slammed Mjolnir into the reality manipulator's back, sending him flying. "Pardon my asking, but whatdid you douse him with?"

Walt Rod cleared his throat. "The process is rather complicated, so I'll be short. The first chemical I mixed would absorb the air molecules around Oblivion as he moved. Seeing as how you just launched him into the troposphere, there'll be plenty of molecules to spare. The second chemical in my concoction would divide the molecules into their individual elements. Of particular importance are the miniscule amount of hydrogen molecules and the more abundant oxygen molecules. The third and final part of the concoction would transform the liquid into a gelatinous substance, so it wouldn't slip off." He turned to Donar. "Do you know what occurs when pure oxygen and pure hydrogen combust?"

Donar blinked. "Uh…"

Beaker finished, "An explosion. And judging from the profuse amount of air our dear foe happens to be flying through, it'll be a big one."

The one to provide that explosion would be Slade Wilson: Deathknell the Conqueror.

For as Oblivion flew toward him uncontrollably, Deathknell calmly slipped a grenade into his M79 launcher and fired. It made a strange, hollow 'FOOMP' sound as it flew towards Oblivion.

It hit.

The fiery explosion was immediately followed by an even bigger one. Oblivion howled with agony as he landed on the ground, skidding to a halt over fifty yards away.

He looked up to see a green jackhammer.

The fusion warrior gagged as Green Guardsman bombarded his abdomen with relentless force. The Guild member immediately transformed his jackhammer into a hand, which he used to grab Oblivion and throw him elsewhere, towards another group of superheroes.

Trevor's Titans.

Electrowheel grinned as his exoskeletion crackled with electricity. "Okay guys, time for a combo attack. Make it up as you go!" The Imagiknight's wheels spun as he dashed off to catch the now-woozy teen. His hands short forth a bolt of electricity that latched onto Oblivion and pulled him down into Trevor's grasp (think the Grappler beam from Metroid).

Electrowheel began spinning around in circles – easy to do with spherical wheels – before throwing him away with a burst of electrical power. "GUYS! DO IT!"

Redbird dashed forward before delivering a vicious uppercut to Oblivion's chin. King (BOY ON THE KOB!) leapt into the air, slashing at Oblivion with his claws. Omegadrone's arms morphed into golden hammers, which he slammed right into the fused teen's chest. Nevermore sent him further upward with a slash from her wings, followed by a bolt of black energy.

In the air, Oblivion was caught by Sunfire.

And Soulfire.

And Starfire.

The three stared at each other. Starfire said, "May we kick the butt?"

The other two Tamaraneans smiled.

They kicked Oblivion's butt once. They giggled for a few seconds at the humor of it all before grabbing him and diving downward at high speed, spinning around as they did.

Oblivion was too dizzy to do anything…couldn't attack…couldn't muster a defense…the PAIN…

SMASH!

The three Tamaraneans burst away just before Oblivion hit the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of ash and dust. The reality manipulator hacked up blood, coughing horribly. There was a lull in the fighting at last…he could-

The hand of a gorilla grabbed his ankle.

"I don't think so," remarked Mockingbird as she threw Oblivion over her head towards the Ape Titans.

Beast leapt into the air and brought both fists together, slamming them into Oblivion's back. Prime immediately grabbed Oblivion as he fell, his hands now sporting brass knuckles (custom fit for gorilla hands). He gave the fusion several painful blows before tossing him to CyGor.

The cybernetic gorilla grabbed Oblivion (goodness, he looked torn up), grinning all the while. "And this is why you should watch what you eat." He opened his mouth, revealing that his Sonic Cannon was built into his mouth.

_**CHOOM!**_

Oblivion howled yet again by the sonic blast. A new source of pain came soon, for missiles – launched from Cyborg – collided with him, dousing his body with more fire. As he fell to the ground, his body jolted with pain as Beast Boy – as an ankylosaurus – whipped his tail at Oblivion, the bony club at the end adding to the force. Oblivion skidded along the ground, even as he was bombardedfrom the air by heat vision and Starbolts.

He was suddenly picked up by Sentinel, who held him tight around the neck with his nunchaku. Myth assisted him by wrapping her promethium chains around Oblivion. "Deathknell, NOW!"

Deathknell dashed forward as he pulled out his katana.

Oblivion's eyes suddenly cleared…and he finally began his counterattack.

"**THIS HURTS!"**

He kicked Slade in the chain before using the Glimmer to smack Sentinel and Myth in the face. He wiggled free of his constraints and howled, sending out hundreds of Glimmer lines to attack. **_"STOP FIGHTING ME!"_**

The ground was suddenly lit by pink energy.

And Oblivion fell to his knees, for the piece of debris he had been standing on broke apart into dust. Elsewhere, Hex smiled.

The lapse allowed the superheroes to continue their assault.

Electrowheel and Tom Turbine both grabbed Oblivion, zapping him with electricity before sending him flying with powerful jabs. He landed in the arms of Brick Wall, who gave him the most painful bear hug in the world (a bear hug that would put bears to shame!) before slamming into the ground and stomping on him.

"Don't mind if I do," remarked Stone as he picked Oblivion up – punching him twice for good measure – and tossed him over to Goliath, who delivered a ferocious haymaker.

"BEAST MODE!" howled King as his armor shifted over more of his body, making him look more like a lion. He leapt at Oblivion, slashing and clawing before biting into his side (and consequently finding the armor was still too strong for him to chew through). So he merely leapt back as Razzle Dazzle blasted him with a bright light (a very bright light…but seeing as how Oblivion was in utter agony, he couldn't even open his eyes). Beast grabbed the fusion with his feet (hurray for opposable toes!) and slammed into the ground. He jumped away just as Wonder Woman came up, punching him ferociously before throwing him to Superman.

Superman grabbed Oblivion and delivered blow after devastating blow. The Kryptonian couldn't believe how much punishment the boy had endured…but there was no time to afford taking chances. They had to stop him here and now.

Kal-El heaved Oblivion towards the two Scarlet Speedsters. The Flash and the Streak both ran around the reality manipulator, delivering millions of blows in seconds. Then, as the ground rumbled, they dashed off before a rocky spire arose from the ground. Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she rose the massive bulk of rock into the air…and then she broke it apart with a thought, screaming as she bombarded Oblivion back to the (now unrecognizable) street with each and every rock.

"DON'T STOP!" yelled Robin as he pulled out his explosive discs. "PUT EVERYTHING YOU HAVE INTO THIS ONE!"

And so they did.

Laser blasts. Heat vision. Starbolts. Sonic blasts. Explosive discs. Grenades. Electricity. Psychic energy. Magical blasts. Every single long distance attack at their disposal tore into the mound of rubble Oblivion was buried under, creating a massive explosion that echoed through the ruins of Jump City. So much energy…poured into an attack so powerful that even the Lord of the Night wouldn't have emerged from it unscathed.

Enough power to rival an atomic bomb in its intensity.

They stopped…and silence ensued.

The heroes each had their own collective sigh of relief.

Robin flexed his fingers. "Looks like it's finally over."

"**YAY!"**

Everyone blinked as Larry rushed up and hugged Robin's leg. "That was the BEST!"

Robin blinked. "Larry, what are you doing here?"

"I came to cheer you on!" exclaimed Ekard Mit. "Now let me get close to that guy so I can get my magic finger back!"

Robin nodded. "Okay. Terra, let's dig him out."

The rubble that covered Oblivion – nearly all of it dust after the explosion – suddenly shifted. A rumble drifted through the area.

All 35 superheroes paused. The Flash muttered, "THAT can't be good."

And then a power greater than an atomic bomb responded.

"_**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**_

Oblivion's terrible howl echoed through the air as a column of white energy erupted from him, tearing into the sky. More rifts opened up by the dozens, and some even merged together. A particularly large cluster of rifts had merged together to form a single, large rift. Larry the Titan screamed as he dove into a trashcan and hid.

Robin didn't care about the rifts. All he saw was Oblivion. An Oblivion without any injury. An Oblivion who was now completely fresh. An Oblivion who was supremely ticked off.

"Dude, that's SO not fair!" protested Beast. "That's just cheating!"

"**_SHUT UP."_** Oblivion punctuated this with a Glimmer fist that stretched toward Beast and punched him in the face. The fusion glared at the others with utter, fiery rage and contempt. "You all just wouldn't stop…you just had to keep going…well you know what? **I'M NOT THE TYPE TO LET GO OF A GRUDGE.**"

Robin paled; the moment he feared had arrived. Oblivion's psyche now had made the leap over to evil…and now the fusion would start fighting with a purpose. _We've lost…_

Clapping.

Everyone turned to face the singular rift that had been created from many. Standing in front of it…was Slade Wilson. Deathstroke the Terminator.

Robin hissed. "Slade. What are YOU doing here?"

"Merely taking advantage of a new opportunity." The mercenary was now wearing a jet pack of some sorts on his back…but what would he have need for it? "You see Titans, while you've been contending with Oblivion here, my robots have been entering numerous realities and stealing anything of value. I was to be merely content with my gains, even as I watched the good show you were putting on. I never expected Raven to actually find so much help though. Bravo."

Deathknell's eye narrowed at the arrogance in Deathstroke's voice. "I can see why Robin doesn't like him."

Deathstroke ignored his counterpart by continuing on. "But then this came to my attention." He pointed at the rift behind him. "Multiple rifts were exhibiting increasingly large amounts of chronoton particles. And seeing as how time travel happens to be a particularly regular occurrence for certain people, I've learned from scientific reports ad eyewitness accounts of those who DO go back in time…that the further back in time one goes, the more chronoton particles are present." He stared at the Titans – HIS Titans – and said, "This rift is exhibiting more chronotons than any other time traveling incident ever produced. Hundreds, THOUSANDS of times more." He smiled behind his mask. "I arrived at only one conclusion. What could be exhibiting so many chronotons?"

Green Lantern was silent as he listened to the analysis of the rift from his power ring…and he paled at the conclusion it had arrived at. "Oh no…Deathstroke you fool! DON'T DO IT!"

"What? What's wrong?" asked Green Guardsman.

"That rift…it leads back to before the dawn of time!"

A collective gasp came from nearly everyone. Deathstroke merely smiled. "Correct."

John Stewart glared at the mercenary. "It's a universal law Deathstroke; NO ONE is allowed to gaze back or even go to the dawn of time. It's forbidden!"

"Because the Guardians of the Universe fear that someone who does go back to the time before time began will rewrite history…effectively making themselves a god." Green Lantern stared in shock. This was very pleasing to Deathstroke. "I have many sources Green Lantern. I know why your higher-ups on Oa forbid this action. And to be frank, I don't care what they think."

"DON'T DO IT SLADE," growled Robin as he glared hatefully at the mercenary (how? how had Slade gotten the jump on them once again?).

"I've broken the law many times in my life Robin. Do you really think I care if I break another?" With a press of a switch, his jetpack activated. Even as he hovered into the air, hundreds of Slade's robots – the humanoid Dots and the more bulky Bots – poured out of the alleyways. "My last attempt at achieving godhood failed. Now I have been presented with an opportunity to reach it once more. And even dear Oblivion has been a boon…the radiation normally found with chronotons during time travel is nonexistent with these rifts. I don't even need any protection."

Oblivion just stared, not even focusing on Deathstroke…mostly on the massive vortex.

"Farewell Titans. If you should still be in existence by the time I'm done…it'll be most amusing to see how you'll have fared in my new world." Slade chuckled as his jetpack propelled him into the time portal.

"**_GET HIM! WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!"_** howled Robin.

The Dots and the Bots immediately opened fire and charged. They outnumbered the 35 superheroes by at least 60 to 1. And even then their goal wasn't to destroy the numerous warriors; it was merely to stall for time. Time for Slade to rewrite history as he saw fit.

Robin tore through as many of the robots as he could, whirling his bo staff like a possessed man. He couldn't stop. Ignore the tiredness. Ignore everything. Just stop SLADE-

A Bot slammed its massive metal fist into his back. Robin howled as he was sent to the ground. Even as Redbird and Prime came to assist, Robin couldn't help but stare at the rift.

Then he realized Oblivion was gone.

_Where…?_

He couldn't hold it off anymore. The tiredness and his body's screams for sleep took precedence.

Robin finally blacked out.

xxxx

Slade Wilson had been extraordinarily lucky.

Things had just fallen into place one after another. The spell that had stuck Noel Collins and Robert Candide together. The arrival of Ekard Mit. The multiple rifts. And at last, the vortex to the time before time began.

Deathstroke wasn't one to believe in fate…but even he couldn't help but wonder if someone was looking out for him today.

However, luck could only go so far…and it was finally time for him to endure a setback.

And considering all that had happened, it was a tremendous setback.

For Oblivion – the red fins on his shoulder blades spinning like propellers – suddenly burst past Slade.

Deathstroke couldn't help but goggle at what had just occurred. It had been too bizarre a sight…and then it finally clicked. "No." Slade reached for Oblivion's ankle…but he was already too far ahead. **"NO!"**

Slade increased the power to his jetpack. Oblivion was still moving further ahead.

The mercenary's eye narrowed out of anger. _That accursed boy…he won't foil my plans this time!_

xxxx

Oblivion had been inexplicably drawn to the vortex.

He wasn't quite sure why…but he sensed tremendous power beyond it. Utterly unimaginable energy, eclipsing his own massive power without question.

Needless to say, the psyche within him was intrigued. Intrigued by the raw power.

He wanted to see it.

So he kept pouring on the speed…and at last, he entered the whiteness.

All around him was an infinity of white…an endless expanse. The only exception was a massive pool of purple energy that spanned miles and miles in diameter. Within it was all of the matter that would spawn the universe. Everything that would ever exist…in pure energy form.

In the midst of that pool were two hands struggling for dominance. A white hand in a green glove…and a metallic hand made of anti-matter. Although Oblivion did not know it, he was staring at the hands of the Spectre and the Anti-Monitor, each one trying to overpower the other. Raw bolts of orange energy erupted from the hands.

Oblivion calmly descended toward the stream of energy. Utter power…what if he used his power upon it? The fusion stared at it with blue eyes…and put his hands into the raw energy.

Simultaneously, a window opened up in the expanse, revealing a scientist of Oa by the name of Krona. He was pointing at the energy pool from the other side of thewindow. "…you talk of legends of destruction should I learn the truth. You are a DOLT!" Foreign, pinkish energy leaked from the window.

The unholy face of the Anti-Monitor peered out of the purple stream. He roared with all the force he could muster. **"Now Krona – open the portal. Peer back to the dawn of creation! DO IT NOW! _NOW!_ _NOW!_"**

The Spectre roared in defiance. _"NO! We have not lost! Not yet! More power! I need more strength! **MORE!** **MORE!**"_

The energy from Krona's machine mixed with the power of the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre…but unlike before, there was a new random element.

Oblivion's immense energies – capable of altering anything and everything – poured into the energy stream as bolts of power racketed his frame. The fusion screamed as loud as he could, his pain echoing throughout the expanse of whiteness.

The Anti-Monitor gazed at Oblivion. **"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?"**

The Spectre looked in astonishment at Oblivion. _"Who is he that commands so much energy?"_

Oblivion's interference had introduced a random factor into the equation. Powers that affected magic and reality itself stormed through the pool, mixing with those of the Anti-Monitor, the Spectre, and Krona's machine.

Then the stream vanished into whiteness, as Oblivion was propelled outward through the rift that he had inadvertently created.

Further back into the rift, Deathstroke's eyes widened as Oblivion's body slammed into his, pushing him back. "What have you done? TELL ME!"

Slade got no answer.

xxxx

In Jump City, sheer power – along with Oblivion and Deathstroke – erupted from the rift.

"They're back!" exclaimed Superman.

"But what's going on-" Robin's words were cut off as he was devoured by the whiteness.

All of Jump City was consumed. The white energy didn't spread any further…although invisible ripples of power did spread out, affecting everything they touched…that is, everything that had been changed.

Oblivion had altered creation.

xxxx

In the beginning there was only one, a single black infinitude.

So cold and dark for so very long…that even the burning light was imperceptible.

But then the light grew, and the universal infinitude shuddered…and the darkness finally screamed, as much in pain as in relief.

For in that instant a Multiverse was born.

A Multiverse of infinite worlds, vibrating and replicating…and a Multiverse that had once been one, became many once more.

xxxx

We turn back the Earth of our Titans…one of the multiple Earths, which had yet to receive a designated name.

Metropolis.

McDonald's.

As surprising as it was, the time skips had not affected the areas outside of Jump City. Why? The immense powers of Oblivion had done strange things to the city. To be honest, there was no explanation for it; simply that Oblivion's energy had seemingly put Jump City in its own realm, where what affected the city only affected it and nothing else.

This was why Phil and Ralph were still eating lunch around noon, whereas it had been the dawn of the next day at Jump City.

Phil snorted. "This stinks." He was eating his fourth Superburger – a McDonald's burger with buns shaped like Superman's symbol and a super secret sauce – which is why the comment seemed strange to Ralph. "You seem to be enjoying them. And they're actually okay."

"Not the burger. This place promoted free Kryptonite to people who bought at least three." Phil downed the rest of the Superburger. Ralph merely sweatdropped.

_Sheesh, you need to learn some manners._

_Bite me Io._

_**Squire! Don't use such a tongue in front of a lady.**_

_Io? A lady? PFFT._

An invisible ripple passed through everything. It was immediately noticeable because a fat, obese guy wearing a 'PS3 ROXXORS MY BOXXORS' transformed into a slim Buddhist monk wearing a red gi.

The man stared at the meal in front of him. "Oh…oh GOODNESS! I have defiled my oath! NOOO!" The monk wailed as he spat out his food – apparently, he was a vegetarian – and dashed out of McDonald's.

Phil and Ralph could only stare.

The Jedi Knight commented, "A time ripple."

Phil grimaced. "Yup."

"Something's changed."

"Yup." He then stared at his watch. "3…2…1…"

A familiar voice erupted from the watch. **"_PHIIIIIL!_ MY OFFICE, _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!_"**

Phil sighed dejectedly. "Yes sir." He stood up with Ralph, ignoring the stares he was getting from the other customers. "I can't get a break…"

xxxx

_**TO BE CONCLUDED…**_

_**NEXT TIME…**_

_**Epilogue**_

xxxx

Author's Notes: (collapses) 61 pages in 6 days…my biggest chapter ever since the final chapter of Zero 2: A Revision…over 20,000 words…(dies)

I hope you all enjoyed it.

See you soon, and please review!


	8. Epilogue

Standard Disclaimer: DC owns Teen Titans. Legend Maker owns Savior/Noel Collins. Bobcat owns Gauntlet/Robert Candide. Jedi-And owns Scalpel/Nigel Hastings.

Author's Notes: Why am I talking about Scalpel?

You'll see…

And so, the end begins…

xxxx

_**Epilogue**_

xxxx

Phil rarely felt fear anymore.

Very few people could actually inspire literal fear in Phil. After all, he had enough power to rival (or, as some say, SURPASS) the infamous warriors known as the Z Fighters…particularly someone called Goku. Or Vegeta. Or anyone from the DBZ universe, for that matter.

So it was a mystery as to why Chief O'Connor frightened him so. After all, the 50-year old man was past his physical prime; if anything, he was a fatter version of Alex Trebek, with gray hair. And baldness. Heck, his top power level was 5,000.

But here's the thing: O'Connor was his boss.

Understand now?

In any case, Phil was standing in front of O'Connor's desk, unmoving. O'Connor stared at Phil in silence, his eyes narrowed.

Finally, the Chief spoke. "This…is a new standard of disastrous, even for you Phil. I'm actually thinking that this may be even WORSE than the whole incident with Erik in Bludhaven!"

The Physics Policeman was sweating; THAT incident had gotten the attention of O'Connor's superior, Jacob (who had enough power to call upon an entire ARMY of Policeman if he wanted to). How bad could this one be?

"Do you remember the big incident of 1985?"

Phil blinked. "Uh…"

"All of the DC Universes. Back in those days, they were classified under a single title: the DC Multiverse." O'Connor frowned. "Ring a bell?"

The memory didn't return. So Phil just improvised. "Oh…OH. Ah…THAT."

O'Connor's eyes narrowed. "Acting will get you nowhere."

_Crap. He knows me too well._

_**Squire, tis' not good to lie.**_

_Shut it._

"In 1985, a being known as the Anti-Monitor started destroying all of the universes within the DC Multiverse. It was what was the timeline dictated would happen, so our job was simply to keep his anti-matter waves from leaking out into other universes. Even so, we lost a few hundred agents to the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons that tried to attack universes that weren't supposed to fall. Although we succeeded, the losses were a bitter pill to swallow." The Chief leaned forward, glaring straight into Phil's eyes. "The DC Multiverse became the DC Universe."

Phil stared. "Uh…okay. And?"

Chief O'Connor's glare could've melted steel. "When multiple universes merged together into Universe FC-1 a while back, some of the universes fragmented, and split off. Universe DC-LM resulted from a fragment of the DC Universe."

Phil was silent. "…and? What exactly happened?"

O'Connor sighed as he grabbed a large chart and held it in front of Phil. "Does this IMAGE ring any bells?"

The PP Agent gazed at the image…and blanched. He recognized that image from Ralph's comic book collection.

Multiple earths…

"A Crisis on Infinite Earths…?"

"In reverse," finished O'Connor. "You could've stopped that reality manipulator before this happened. You are a warrior with the blood of heroes, Saiyans, and Juraians flowing through you…you had the power. But **NO**…you had to be bitter. You had to 'teach me a lesson'. Well guess what? Your inaction has caused Universe DC-LM to become a Multiverse. Every single timeline has gotten its own universe. Do you understand the consequences **_NOW?_**"

Phil dropped the act. He wasn't stupid. "All of these universes have heroes who will all need new licenses. Patrolling schedules need to be redone to fit this new influx of universes. Dimensional rifts resulting from the sudden emergence of the Multiverse will need to be closed. Sensory probes will need to be established…anything else?"

"Those are the major things," remarked O'Connor. "And seeing as how most of my other agents are busy at the moment, YOU will start renewing licenses on your own."

Phil's heart began to sink; renewing licenses for people over multiple universes? That wasn't fair.

"And to start, you will go to the Earth in Universe DC-LM-371. Now shoo!"

Phil's shoulders sagged as he trudged out of Chief O'Connor's office. "Yes sir…"

The Chief leaned back in his chair, scratching his mustache. "Always makes me feel irritable…"

xxxx

Universe DC-LM-371.

In a flash of light, Phil appeared inside Titans Tower.

Inside a darkened room, which was dimly lit by a lamp.

On a bed, he saw two figures.

Noel Collins and Robert Candide.

Robert protested, "Do you MIND?"

Phil blinked at what he was seeing. Then he realized what exactly he WAS seeing.

A purple aura flared around him. "Excuse me." He casually walked out of the room.

And as Robert and Noel remained with each other, they could barely hear the shout of 'Shi Shi Hakodan!' and the explosion following it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go gag myself with a rusty spork…

xxxx

Universe DC-LM-379.

Earth.

Titans Tower.

Raven gurgled as she sat up in her bed, clutching her aching head. "Ow…my head…" Everything was ringing…why was she having trouble remembering…?

Explosions. Battles. Rifts. Oblivion.

Her eyes widened. _Noel._ She quickly ran out of her room, her cloak billowing behind her. She dashed into the living room…and stopped.

Savior was sitting in front of the television (which also served as the main computer. Ain't versatility grand?), watching the news. Gauntlet was on the couch, snoring.

Raven suddenly realized that they were no longer connected; their hands were no longer connected. The spell had been broken. _But how?_ She slowly walked over to the couch, looking at the television screen Savior was watching.

"**And so for this morning's top story, we have a large traffic jam in the downtown area, after an 18-wheeler skidded to a halt to avoid a squirrel. There was no accident, but it will take a few hours to fix the current jam. We have just received notice that the truck driver is a member of PETA-"**

Noel snorted. "Idiot. Endanger the lives of other humans and ruin their days…but the little critter gets to live! All in a day's work. Pfft."

"There's no mention of Oblivion…or anything that happened." Raven was flabbergasted; everything looked perfectly…normal. "The city looks untouched."

"Not only that, but look at the date." Savior pointed at the upper corner of the screen. Raven nearly blanched at the sight. "It's been a whole week…"

"Apparently, time decided to have one final skip." The white-haired metahuman rubbed his temples as he leaned back against the couch, letting the full impact of what had happened hit him. "We nearly destroyed everything."

"It wasn't your fault Noel," whispered Raven.

Savior's eyes narrowed. "I know that. After all…" He gazed at the slumbering Gauntlet. "He's the one who started the whole mess to begin with."

The empath sweatdropped. _Not exactly the response I had in mind._ "Perhaps. But he didn't create Oblivion. You were simply unlucky."

"And it nearly destroyed the whole city. And reality itself, for that matter." Savior grumbled; his memories of the whole incident were fuzzy. Everything between the battle with Kardiak and the transformation into Oblivion was fuzzy…he could remember some incidents (like when Gauntlet had peeped on him and Raven when they were intimate)…but not much else (and why the heck was he thinking about a scalpel? He didn't have surgery…did he?). But he remembered being Oblivion…he remembered being smothered by a powerful force…and all of the destruction. "Do you know what really sticks in my craw?"

"What?"

"It was all so POINTLESS." Savior stood up, pointing all around him. "It wasn't some grand plan. It wasn't the work of some madman working for months or even years. It was all a big string of coincidences…had Gauntlet not messed with your books, it wouldn't have happened. Had Larry not appeared, it wouldn't have happened. Had Slade not interfered, it wouldn't have happened. Had Robert not activated his Gauntlet, it wouldn't have harnessed yours and Larry's powers. Thus, no Oblivion. See what I'm saying? It's like life wanted us to have an exceptionally difficult time." The metahuman grumbled as he sat back down. "Why? Why do bad things happen for no reason? I know I sound like a typical unknowing child, but seriously; would it HURT for life to ease up on us?"

Raven calmly sat down beside her significant other holding his shoulder gently. "There IS a bright side Noel. Everything was reversed…and it seems as though no one besides us remember anything." _I hope everyone else wound up okay._ Though she had known those alternate reality heroes for a short time – she particularly enjoyed the company of Mockingbird – they had all left an impression on her, however small it was.

Savior sighed again; a constant occurrence this morn. "Still…it could've been a lot worse. But on a positive note, I'm finally FREE!" The metahuman stared at his left hand with a sense of glee. "I should disinfect this. It's got Robert germs all over it."

"Speaking of Robert, we should see how he's doing." Raven turned around…and paused.

Robert Candide was gone.

"Uh…where is he Raven?" asked Noel, already feeling an uneasy feeling (punny!) in his gut.

Raven frowned. Then she felt a magical ripple. A very familiar magical ripple. She moaned out of irritation. "I'm hoping this isn't what I think it is…" She disappeared in a black surge of power.

Moments later, she reappeared, with Gauntlet. The empatn was looking particularly cross. "Robert was trying to cast the Spell of Bonding."

Savior's jaw hit the floor so fast it would've broken a speed record. "AGAIN?"

"Again."

"**WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"** roared Savior as he fought the urge to rip Gauntlet to pieces with the Shimmer. **_"AFTER ALL THAT TROUBLE WE WENT THROUGH, YOU WERE GOING TO CAST THE SAME SPELL THAT CAUSED IT ALL AGAIN? ARE YOU MENTALLY ILL?"_**

Gauntlet shook his head. "I was actually gonna hold Star's hand this time around. At least I would've had some fun before you'd break our loving relationship to thousands of itty, bitty, pieces."

Noel's forehead showed a blood vessel.

_SMASH!_

He slammed Robert into the wall with a Shimmer fist. He charged forward-

_SMACK!_

Only to be sent to the ground by Robin, who was still in his pajamas (though apparently, he slept with his eye mask on). The Teen Wonder grumbled as he put away his bo staff. "After what happened, I'm not in the mood for you two to tear each other to pieces. Robert, go to isolation. Noel, watch over him."

Savior blanched. "**_WHAT?_** BUT WHY-"

"Who better than Noel to watch Robert? Now shoo." Robin sighed as he plopped down at the kitchen table; he felt really irritable right now.

The 19-year old Savior's face twitched as he threw his hands into the air, as if saying 'I give up.' He took Gauntlet (more like dragged him along, to be precise) away, leaving the living room to Robin and Raven.

The violet-eyed Titan turned her gaze to their leader. "You're frustrated."

Robin scowled as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "We nearly lost it all Raven. It was sheer luck that Oblivion managed to stop Slade from altering history."

"Then don't dwell on it. We won in the end."

"I know…but it's hard to not think about how it all could have been prevented." Robin sat down on the couch, sipping the tangy liquid.

The empath added, "Noel had those same thoughts as well."

Before Robin could reply, the large television image blurred, and the monitor showed a new picture. One of Superman.

"**Robin."**

"Superman."

"**Is everything okay down there?"**

"Kind of. Everything seems to have been reversed…and the incident that actually LED to all that craziness has been nullified as well," said Robin. "What about you? Anything odd happening in the Watchtower?"

The Man of Steel shook his head. **"Not exactly. I woke up this morning in Metropolis, as if nothing had happened. I came to the Watchtower, and I found that Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Flash all woke up in their own homes. Apparently, whatever happened at the dawn of time, reality reset itself. A whole week later, I might add."**

Tim Drake sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "It's still so puzzling…all that…all of those rifts…and when it all ends, it's as if nothing ever happened. I can't even remember most of what happened."

"**Neither can I. I told Batman everything I remembered. He couldn't find anything wrong with Earth, the universe, or reality for that matter. I was tempted to call Dr. Fate, but I decided not to. It'd be best to just move on."** What Superman didn't know – or anyone else, for that matter – was that the Multiverse had been reborn. That infinite universes had spawned, each with their own versions of the Titans…of the Justice League…or with none of them at all. In some universes, they didn't exist. They had no way of knowing that…and they never would (That is, unless a Speed Force user happened to transcend the vibrational barriers between worlds…but that's another story for another time.).

"I see…nevertheless," He smiled at the Last Son of Krypton. "It was a pleasure working with you."

Superman smiled. **"Likewise."**

"AND GREEN LANTERN STILL OWES ME TWO AUTOGRAPHS!" interrupted Beast Boy, popping up between Robin and the monitor (and startling the former greatly).

Superman chuckled. **"I'll tell him that."** The transmission ended.

Garfield sighed with relief as he slumped to the floor. "Phew…close one."

"A very RUDE 'close one'," dryly remarked Raven.

"By the way, where's Oblivion? Is he out cold or something?" asked the Changeling.

"No…Oblivion's split back into Savior and Gauntlet. Everything's back to normal." _I hope_, thought Robin.

Then Larry the Titan popped out of the TV. Apparently, normalcy wanted a quick break. "MY MAGIC FINGER'S FIXED!" He looked around with glee. "So, can I still help stop Oblivion?"

Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy stared. Then, all at once, they said, "You're too late."

Ekard Mit moaned, "Aww…"

xxxx

And now we return to the containing room…

"I thought Robin said we didn't HAVE Fourth-Wall energy fields," remarked Gauntlet.

"Apparently, when reality rewrote itself, we do now. And apparently, I knew about it," replied Savior.

Robert Candide snorted. "Talk about a retcon. Or am I thinking of a catchall? Maybe it's more like a deus ex machina."

(Oh shut up, like you're one to talk.)

Gauntlet snapped, "Well it IS! Lazy author!"

(Oh yeah? Don't you remember Cutting Edge?)

"Cutting what?"

(Oh wait. It hasn't happened yet…crap. Well, just you wait!)

Savior stared at the blonde-haired Titan, wondering what exactly he had done in a previouslife to be cursed with such an individual. "I hope you've learned your lesson Rob."

"Brush your teeth after every meal? Because I don't need to anymore." To make his point, he smiled; his teeth were still impeccable.

"NO."

"Oh, YOU mean 'Always put the toilet seat down'."

Savior twitched. "**BE. SERIOUS.** Good Lord, **_CAN'T YOU EVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY?_**"

"Yeah," nonchalantly replied Gauntlet. "But now's not a time for seriousness. I think you're going to implode one day under all of your self-imposed agony."

Noel Collins leered at the jokester. "You wouldn't survive a serious crisis. Not with that attitude."

"What about the Last Wish?"

"A fluke."

"Oh, COME ON," groaned Gauntlet. "Now you're just being unfair. I mean, I'd bet I could hold up to a serious crisis better than you could! You're always too serious! I'm relaxed! You always go 'My way or the highway', I go with the flow! Crises flow from one point to a next…especially the 'End of the World' kind, where you can't control ANYTHING."

Savior snorted. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

(Be glad you haven't read Crisis Point then.)

Robert Candide, not feeling like arguing anymore, fell back down onto the padded floor. "Well…I suppose things ended up well, considering."

"If one thing had been different, it might've not happened. Or it might've been worse." Savior placed his hand on the glass wall. "Fact of the matter is, all of that would have NEVER happened if you hadn't been stupid enough to mess with Raven's spell books."

Gauntlet was silent.

Then, he stood up, and walked over to the glass, staring at his rival (I suppose they're rivals…). "You can't resist getting the last word in when it involves me, do you?"

"Not really."

"Look. Do you think I INTENDED for Oblivion to happen?"

"No, but-"

"SHUT UP. I'm talking now, so zip your lips!" Gauntlet took another breath. "Granted, it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't used the spell…but whose idea was it to turn us into a superpowered destroyer of everything? Slade. I may have caused the whole problem, but I DIDN'T INTEND FOR IT TO HAPPEN. Slade took advantage of it and caused us to become Oblivion. You want to put blame on someone, put it on HIM."

The two glared at each other.

And then, Gauntlet decided to be Gauntlet. "Or you could blame yourself. After all, YOU grabbed my hand."

Noel Collins groaned out of annoyance as he sat back in his chair. "Just forget about it. I want that memory to be as BURIED AS POSSIBLE."

"You just can't admit that I'm right."

Savior didn't answer…because part of him knew that Gauntlet was right. But then again, was he ever going to admit it? Probably not.

"Um…Noel?"

Savior tilted his head to see Terra standing in the doorway to the containment rooms. "Yes?"

"Get Robert out. Robin says he has a different punishment in mind."

xxxx

The Meeting Room.

All the Titans had gathered. All sitting around a big, circular table.

"I have to go to those meetings?"

Robin nodded at Gauntlet. "Yes." The meetings in question were superhero meetings with lawyers. See, due to all the collateral damage that usually results from superhero battles, there's a lot of money that could be made from lawsuits. However, judges always dismiss these lawsuits as a matter of course (and be honest; who would sue the Justice League for destroying a few buildings if it meant stopping Brainiac? Alas, some people would.). However, in order to keep these lawsuits from going through, each superhero team had to renew their 'Protection Licenses' each and every year. More often than not, it lasts a few months. Usually more.

Gauntlet said, "So basically I'm going to be listening to boring people talk about boring stuff for several months when I could just renew our licenses in about ten minutes. Licenses that basically mean that the cops can't arrest us."

"That's the gist of it," finished Cyborg.

Savior sighed. "This is a BAD idea. Tim, you told me about what happened when Gar went in your place during one year. "

Beast Boy groaned. "Please don't remind me…"

"If you send the idiot, he'll get our licenses revoked for sure."

Gauntlet shrugged. "Eh, I've heard all the insults you can dish out. I WOULD call your mom an unpleasant word, but then you'd just break stuff."

Savior cursed loudly. "TRUCK YOU!" Then he screamed again. "AAAAAGH!"

"Regardless Savior, we're sending Gauntlet. If anything, it might help him tone down his goofiness," replied Robin.

Savior was instantly feeling better. "If that's the case, then go for it."

Robert chuckled. "It is SO easy for me to manipulate you. I've got you whipped more than Raven."

Savior darkly glared at Gauntlet. If looks could kill, his glare would've skewered Robert a million times over.

Robin coughed. "So…if you two are done complaining, go pick a car. Noel, you'll be driving Robert to the meeting."

"You just HAVE to make my life miserable, don't you?" growled the white-haired teen.

"Robert can't drive yet."

"Hey, not MY fault you won't let me get a permit!" protested the blonde boy.

The Teen Wonder continued, "Besides, I want you and Rob to clear away any hostilities you may still have. It's a particular sore that's been going on for a bit too long…so I want you to at LEAST make an effort to stop being so antagonistic around him," finished Robin.

Savior groaned. "_FINE…_"

Gauntlet snorted. "Well this is a lousy present for my 16th birthday."

Terra blinked. "You're 16?"

"Yeah! And in a couple of weeks, I'll have been a Titan for a whole year!"

Starfire clapped with glee. "This is wondrous news! Truly wonderful!"

Noel glanced at Raven. "Remind me why we haven't kicked him off the team yet?"

"Just let it go," said Raven.

Cyborg stood, flexing his arms. "Alright, enough jibber-jabber. Go ahead and do your job Rob…" Then his eyes hardened into a glare. "But as for the car, you can choose any of them. **EXCEPT THE T-CAR.** Got it?"

"Fine by me," replied Robert as he walked away. "That thing's a hunk of junk anyway."

Victor Stone snarled. "Oh **_REALLY?_** Well take it then! It'll be the most comfortable ride you've ever experienced!"

Gauntlet raised his hands out of defense. "Sheesh, fine! Have it your way." _Heh heh. Sucker._

And Noel could only sigh out of remorse. "This is going to be a long trip…"

xxxx

Tim Drake stood beside the T-Car. Noel was at the wheel, and Robert was riding shotgun. "Good luck Rob. Try not to mess up."

"I won't. Give Starfire a kiss for me!"

Savior grumbled. "Just be quiet." He shifted into D and drove off, accelerating across the bridge to the mainland.

"So…can I push this button?"

"No."

"This button?"

"No."

"How about this button?"

"No."

"This big red one?"

"Gee, it's big and red. What do you think?"

"Aw, really? You're too kind!"

"Rob, WAIT-"

Several rockets shot out of the T-Car's side, slamming into the bay. Explosions ensued; water shot upward like a geyser.

**"I MEANT NO YOU MORON!"**

"Well how was I supposed to know?"

And as the T-Car drove off, Aqualad floated up to the surface, charred to a crisp. "What did I do…?"

Robin sweatdropped as the T-Car disappeared. _Maybe I should've done the driving…_

/Four Hours Later/

Robin realized that, in hindsight, he was correct. For he stood with Cyborg in the parking garage, waiting for Noel to come up.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

"My…baby…" muttered Cyborg, his jaw nearly dislocated as Noel drove the T-Car into the parking garage. That is, what was left of it. Four wheels, the bottom frame, and some gnarled and twisted metal on the chassis. The roof was gone, and the only door left was the driver door.

Noel calmly turned off the T-Car, unbuckled his seat belt, stepped out, and closed the door. The vehicle promptly fell to pieces.

Cyborg could only muttered 'My…baby…' over and over as Savior casually walked past him. Robin opened his mouth.

**_"DON'T. ASK."_**

Robin shut his mouth. Savior stomped off into the elevator.

He wanted to scream. To shout. To roar. Granted, it wouldbe swear words…but listening to the ridiculouscensors would've made him even madder. If only he could-

The doors opened, revealing Raven. Her hands were glowing blue. She touched Noel's lips with her fingers. "On paos rof uoy."

Noel blinked as he felt a tingling sensation. "Huh…?"

"Test it out in the bathroom."

Savior blinked. Then his eyes widened out of realization. He promptly entered the bathroom, and let loose a stream of curse words so loud and profane that they are not fit for this story. Heck, even Quentin Tarantino would've blushed out of embarrassment.

Finally, two minutes later, Savior stepped out, looking strangely content, "That felt…SO good."

"Then shall we give the meditation another try?" asked Raven. She held her hand out.

The white-haired Noel Collins smiled as he grabbed it. "You know? I just might."

xxxx

The roof.

Two lovers.

Chanting.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Sometimes, life was like a circle: the end was the same as the beginning. The same applies to this tale.

Everything was fixed. The Multiverse may have returned, but our heroes do not know. For now, they will relax. They have earned it.

And all was well in the world…

xxxx

…except in a certain, underground lair…where a one-eyed mercenary eyed an entire hoard of stolen technology. Technology from other realities.

Slade Wilson smiled. "It would seem that I still had enough good fortune to retain my…'gifts'." So many potential uses. So much technology from worlds no one from this reality had ever visited before. And he had all the time in the world to study them. "Oblivion may not have destroyed the Titans…and he may have stopped me from rewriting history…but instead, he led the way to another prize."

I suppose the law of averages had to come into play. For all those who didn't remember what happened…or those that remembered the crisis only partially…Deathstroke remembered everything. The alternate realities. The dawn of time. Everything.

Slade smiled. "Be on your guard Titans."

And so he went to work, analyzing the various technological and mechanical artifacts he had procured…and let us hope what he learns will not lead to even greater crisis for our Titans…but he is a villain. A very smart villain.

So you know what he learns will end up harming the Titans…in one way or another.

So indeed…be on your guard Titans.

xxxx

One month later.

Space.

A black vessel. Smaller than a truck. Angular in shape.

Destination: Earth.

Its lone passenger: a certain Blacktrinian medic…

xxxx

_**THE END**_

To be continued…

…in _Flashing Lights and Sounds_…

xxxx

And so a pair of hands moved away from the keyboard. "And done." He stood up, revealing himself to be a blue hedgehog of 5'. He wore a very classy tuxedo, pitch black in color. His angular shoes were red, with a white stripe going across the middle. His white socks matched his white gloves, and his black shades hid his green eyes. If anything, he looked like Sonic the Hedgehog…if he had pursued a career as James Bond.

Ultra Sonic 007 gazed at a short pink fairy. Everything she wore was pink; pink scarf, pink robes, and pink gloves. She even had a pointy pinky witch's hat with the letters 'LM' on it. The hedgehog asked, "So, Legend Maker…or should I say Chrissie…what do you think?"

The fairy scratched her chin. "Not bad, not bad…no musical numbers though."

"It's FFNet we're talking about here. My hands are tied."

"Good point."

"So…do I get on the Legends team?" asked the hedgehog, his voice slightly deep.

The fairy contemplated the situation…and then she said, "One question…sunny-side up, over easy, or scrambled?"

The hedgehog grinned. "I can do all three. AND I can make an omelet."

"Without breaking it?"

"Without breaking it."

Chrissie thought about it. Then she said, "Let's talk some more in my office. You'll want to meet Andy and Zia." A white portal appeared in the air.

"Ooh, shiny."

"That's my catchphrase."

"Sorry."

And so the two authors disappeared into the ether.

xxxx

Universe DC-LM-379

Omnicron Persiren 7.

"**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_** screamed Phil as he flew off as fast as he could.

For pursuing him was a little white bunny known as a Klumach Forthgror.

And let it be known that Phil's life STILL sucks.

xxxx

**_THE END_** (For real this time.)

xxxx

Author's Notes: Well, this was certainly fun to write. As to whether I actually BECOME part of the Legends team is up for debate. ;)

In any case, I won't write another Teen Titans Legendverse story for a while…but I do have ideas for future stories. So Legendverse fans, this hasn't been the last you've seen of me. :P

If you want to read what immediately happens after this story, read Jedi-And's _Flashing Lights and Sounds_, which shows the arrival of the new teammate Scalpel…

See you later, and please review!


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